Tournament of Hearts
by othfan326
Summary: sequel to the secret's in the telling. takes place almost four years later. BRUCAS
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! I'm back. This is the sequel to "The Secret's in the Telling"

The title comes from the album "Tournament of Hearts" by The Constantines.

Quick side note- to everyone who was reading "So Here We Are", I know I ended it abruptly, and for that I'm so sorry, but when I finished the chapter it seemed like the perfect place to end the story because it had started in the beginning of the summer and that was the end of the summer. Anyway, there may be a sequel in the future (no promises, and if it does happen, it wont begin until i start winter break in a few weeks).

I also wanted to thank all of the people that reviewed TSITT, especially: flipflopgal, toddntan, BRUCAS EQUALS LOVE, onetreehillgirl066, brucas2006, greekcat92, brucasforever77, naley4ever323, ariadnescurse, lonesome dreamer, brucasgrl15, Brucas True Love, Polia, B.P.Davis, broodyprettygirl, UberBrucaserx3, OTHbrucas4ever, bornagainbrucasfan, brucasbrathanbaleybrachel, LoVeBrucas, and everyone else who reviewed the story.

enough of me, onto the story! enjoy and please review

disclaimer- i dont own OTH, personally i think this disclaimer is stupid because i think it's clear that i dont own any part of this show (i wish i did, but thats not the point)

summary- takes place almost four years after the last story left off. total brucas. thats all im giving away

* * *

How did he get to this point? How did it all come down to this? He was always strong, never letting anything get to him; then he joined the basketball team, and then he met Brooke, and then he lost her over and over again. So there he was, sitting on a bus full of rowdy college basketball players, right across from his brother as they made their way to the quarter finals of the NCAA Championship Tournament. But with everything that was going on in his head and in his heart, he was going to give a new meaning to 'March Madness'. 

He tried to get his mind off of his real problems, so he listened to everything that was going on around him. In the back he could hear a bunch of his Duke teammates arguing over who was the hotter cheerleader. He had grown to love his teammates; he spent almost four years with this team, and it all paid off. He and Nathan were now the co-captains and they were both headed for the NBA after the draft in June. He appreciated every game as if it was his last; a heart condition and an open heart surgery could do that to you.

He could also hear his coaches going over special plays, but most of all he could hear the humming of the bus as it sped down the highway.

The longer he listened to that hypnotizing hum, the more he thought of her; of Brooke, the love of his life. Again, he couldn't help but to ask himself how it all came down to this. Although the National Championship Game wasn't for another 10 days, he knew that this weekend would be one of the most decisive in his life.

He had been in a 'funk' as Haley called it for three years and two months. He would sulk, brood even more than usual, and even though he wouldn't let anyone know it, there were nights when he would actually cry himself to sleep. He wondered what would happen if right now, one of his teammates came to the front of the bus and saw their captain, the Lucas Scott, crying silently.

His crying had nothing to do with the fact that they were all headed to New York City to play at Madison Square Garden. Honestly, that was the last thing on his mind. The first thing was Brooke. He was crying over how much he loved her, how much he missed her, how much he hated himself for letting her go, and how truly scared he was to see her.

She had the right to hate him after what he did; he broke both of their hearts, and he could never take that back. Lucas knew that she would be angry and spiteful and irrational when she saw him, but he had to see her. He had to see her for the first time in three years and two months. He had to tell her everything that he has wanted to since the last time he saw her.

He was terrified, to say the least, of everything that was going to happen. But he knew that Nathan was right.

Two days ago Nathan went on a much needed rant; he finally told off Lucas. For almost three and a half years he has been there for Lucas and for Brooke because Haley was there for Brooke. He had dealt with the hole that Lucas dug himself into, but he had finally had enough. When he found out that they would be going to MSG, the first thing he did was yell at Lucas; right there, in front of the coaches in the locker room.

_"Finally!" Nathan shouted._

_"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked._

_"We're going to New York," Nathan said._

_"So?" Lucas asked._

_"Nathan, what's going on?" one of the coaches tried to ask._

_Nathan ignored the question and turned back to Lucas._

_"We are going to New York," He said more slowly. "That means that you are going to pick yourself up out of this shit you got yourself into and go see Brooke. You're going to get down on your hands and knees and beg if that's what it takes to get her back. I don't care if you're scared or if she hates you; it's time that you two got back together. You're only hurting yourselves now and we're all sick of it! Haley, Rachel, everyone! The only reason why I haven't done this before is because you're my brother and you had good intentions." he yelled. Nathan didn't care how harsh he was being; he needed to be that way or else he wouldn't get the point across to the infamously dense Lucas. "You need her, she needs you. You love her, she loves you. I don't care about what's happened in the past. Just fix it now before you become even more depressed than you already are!" Nathan finished his little 'pep' talk and left the locker room, leaving Lucas dangerously close to breaking down in front of their coaches._

_"Lucas?" one of them asked. "Luke are you okay?"_

_Lucas shook his head no and then left the locker room silently._

Nathan was right. It was time for Lucas to get his life back on track; it was time to fight for the one thing that he wants and loves more than anything.

With his sudden boost of confidence over what he was going to do, the only question left in his mind was whether or not she got the package.

Brooke sat in her office trying to keep a composed face so that the people on the other side of the glass doors couldn't see the emotions running through her.

Every since she and Lucas had 'ended', she's been an emotional wreck, but only a few people knew that.

Now she couldn't let anyone know that. She was successful and famous; Clothes over Bros had been thriving since day one and she was the woman behind it all. Brooke had learned to be tough in order to run her own company, but now she didn't know how much longer she could put up that face.

No matter how angry, bitter, and hurt she was she could never deny the fact that she missed him and still loved him.

"Brooke?" Rachel asked, noticing her friend's glazed over stare. Rachel had moved to New York with Brooke that summer and after two years at NYU, she had joined Brooke full time at Clothes over Bros. Rachel helped Brooke so much in the past year and a half, both in business and in her personal life.

They sat together in Brooke's office picking at their lunch salads and trying to avoid the giant elephant in the room that took the form of a medium sized box with a return address from Durham, North Carolina.

"Brooke?" Rachel asked again and finally got Brooke to snap out of her daze. When Rachel saw the tears beginning to form in Brooke's eyes, she surprisingly opted out of the yelling path and went for the softer but still stern one.

"Brooke, you have to open it," Rachel said.

"Why?" Brooke asked. "Why should I give him the satisfaction of opening it and seeing what he sent to me? I don't want to know." Brooke said the last part quietly because she and Rachel both knew that she was lying. "I should just burn it all."

"That would be incredibly dumb," Rachel said. "Open it." she said sternly.

"Why!" Brooke yelled.

"Because you love him and you know that he loves you!" Rachel yelled back, both forgetting that other people in the office could now hear them. "And because you'll regret it if you don't open it, and because what's in there could be really important for the two of you." Rachel finished softly.

Brooke let a single tear roll down her cheek. She desperately tried to wipe it away before she could acknowledge it herself, but it was too late. She knew she had to open it, but before she could she had to think about tow moments. Two moments that changed everything for them. And somehow, in some strange way, she knew that at that moment, Lucas was thinking about the same thing.

* * *

How did he get to this point? How did it all come down to this? He was always strong, never letting anything get to him; then he joined the basketball team, and then he met Brooke, and then he lost her over and over again. So there he was, sitting on a bus full of rowdy college basketball players, right across from his brother as they made their way to the quarter finals of the NCAA Championship Tournament. But with everything that was going on in his head and in his heart, he was going to give a new meaning to 'March Madness'. 

He tried to get his mind off of his real problems, so he listened to everything that was going on around him. In the back he could hear a bunch of his Duke teammates arguing over who was the hotter cheerleader. He had grown to love his teammates; he spent almost four years with this team, and it all paid off. He and Nathan were now the co-captains and they were both headed for the NBA after the draft in June. He appreciated every game as if it was his last; a heart condition and an open heart surgery could do that to you.

He could also hear his coaches going over special plays, but most of all he could hear the humming of the bus as it sped down the highway.

The longer he listened to that hypnotizing hum, the more he thought of her; of Brooke, the love of his life. Again, he couldn't help but to ask himself how it all came down to this. Although the National Championship Game wasn't for another 10 days, he knew that this weekend would be one of the most decisive in his life.

He had been in a 'funk' as Haley called it for three years and two months. He would sulk, brood even more than usual, and even though he wouldn't let anyone know it, there were nights when he would actually cry himself to sleep. He wondered what would happen if right now, one of his teammates came to the front of the bus and saw their captain, the Lucas Scott, crying silently.

His crying had nothing to do with the fact that they were all headed to New York City to play at Madison Square Garden. Honestly, that was the last thing on his mind. The first thing was Brooke. He was crying over how much he loved her, how much he missed her, how much he hated himself for letting her go, and how truly scared he was to see her.

She had the right to hate him after what he did; he broke both of their hearts, and he could never take that back. Lucas knew that she would be angry and spiteful and irrational when she saw him, but he had to see her. He had to see her for the first time in three years and two months. He had to tell her everything that he has wanted to since the last time he saw her.

He was terrified, to say the least, of everything that was going to happen. But he knew that Nathan was right.

Two days ago Nathan went on a much needed rant; he finally told off Lucas. For almost three and a half years he has been there for Lucas and for Brooke because Haley was there for Brooke. He had dealt with the hole that Lucas dug himself into, but he had finally had enough. When he found out that they would be going to MSG, the first thing he did was yell at Lucas; right there, in front of the coaches in the locker room.

"_Finally!" Nathan shouted._

"_What are you talking about?" Lucas asked._

"_We're going to New York," Nathan said._

"_So?" Lucas asked._

"_Nathan, what's going on?" one of the coaches tried to ask._

_Nathan ignored the question and turned back to Lucas._

"_We are going to New York," He said more slowly. "That means that you are going to pick yourself up out of this shit you got yourself into and go see Brooke. You're going to get down on your hands and knees and beg if that's what it takes to get her back. I don't care if you're scared or if she hates you; it's time that you two got back together. You're only hurting yourselves now and we're all sick of it! Haley, Rachel, everyone! The only reason why I haven't done this before is because you're my brother and you had good intentions." he yelled. Nathan didn't care how harsh he was being; he needed to be that way or else he wouldn't get the point across to the infamously dense Lucas. "You need her, she needs you. You love her, she loves you. I don't care about what's happened in the past. Just fix it now before you become even more depressed than you already are!" Nathan finished his little 'pep' talk and left the locker room, leaving Lucas dangerously close to breaking down in front of their coaches._

"_Lucas?" one of them asked. "Luke are you okay?"_

_Lucas shook his head no and then left the locker room silently._

Nathan was right. It was time for Lucas to get his life back on track; it was time to fight for the one thing that he wants and loves more than anything.

With his sudden boost of confidence over what he was going to do, the only question left in his mind was whether or not she got the package.

* * *

Brooke sat in her office trying to keep a composed face so that the people on the other side of the glass doors couldn't see the emotions running through her. 

Every since she and Lucas had 'ended', she's been an emotional wreck, but only a few people knew that.

Now she couldn't let anyone know that. She was successful and famous; Clothes over Bros had been thriving since day one and she was the woman behind it all. Brooke had learned to be tough in order to run her own company, but now she didn't know how much longer she could put up that face.

No matter how angry, bitter, and hurt she was she could never deny the fact that she missed him and still loved him.

"Brooke?" Rachel asked, noticing her friend's glazed over stare. Rachel had moved to New York with Brooke that summer and after two years at NYU, she had joined Brooke full time at Clothes over Bros. Rachel helped Brooke so much in the past year and a half, both in business and in her personal life.

They sat together in Brooke's office picking at their lunch salads and trying to avoid the giant elephant in the room that took the form of a medium sized box with a return address from Durham, North Carolina.

"Brooke?" Rachel asked again and finally got Brooke to snap out of her daze. When Rachel saw the tears beginning to form in Brooke's eyes, she surprisingly opted out of the yelling path and went for the softer but still stern one.

"Brooke, you have to open it," Rachel said.

"Why?" Brooke asked. "Why should I give him the satisfaction of opening it and seeing what he sent to me? I don't want to know." Brooke said the last part quietly because she and Rachel both knew that she was lying. "I should just burn it all."

"That would be incredibly dumb," Rachel said. "Open it." she said sternly.

"Why!" Brooke yelled.

"Because you love him and you know that he loves you!" Rachel yelled back, both forgetting that other people in the office could now hear them. "And because you'll regret it if you don't open it, and because what's in there could be really important for the two of you." Rachel finished softly.

Brooke let a single tear roll down her cheek. She desperately tried to wipe it away before she could acknowledge it herself, but it was too late. She knew she had to open it, but before she could she had to think about tow moments. Two moments that changed everything for them. And somehow, in some strange way, she knew that at that moment, Lucas was thinking about the same thing.

* * *

Well that's it! That's the first chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it.

The next chapter (which will probably be posted in a few hours) will be about those two moments.

Please leave reviews and suggestions

Thanks

-Allie

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Here it is! Chapter two.

Thanks to toddntan, Brucasgrl15, FinallyPJ, and LoVeBrucas for reviewing the previous chapter

Enjoy, and please review

* * *

_Labor Day Weekend; the summer after high school…. _

_Lucas stood in the airport with a small bouquet in his hands and a smile that wouldn't leave his face. _

_If it had been Christmas, Lucas would have looked like the biggest cliché. _

_"Who are you waiting for?" The voice brought Lucas out of his stare towards Brooke's gate. _

_"Huh?" Lucas asked, finally turning to see a middle aged man standing next to him. _

_"Who are you waiting for?" he asked again. _

_"My girlfriend," Lucas said smiling. "She's been away the whole summer and she's coming back any minute." _

_The man smiled at Lucas. _

_"God I've missed her so much," Lucas said quietly, more to himself, but the man next to him still heard. "What about you?" Lucas asked as he snapped out of his Brooke induced day dream. _

_"My wife and kids," the man said proudly. "They went to New Jersey to visit my wife's parents, but couldn't get away because of work. Alone time is nice, but a week away is way too much." he said. _

_There was a short silence between the two. _

_"Anyway," the man said. "I'm Jason," he said extending his hand. _

_"Lucas," Lucas replied taking his hand. _

_"How old are your kids?" Lucas asked. _

_"Twin 9 year old daughters," Jason said with a smile on his face. "I'm surprising them with a puppy when they get home." _

_Lucas smiled softly at this stranger's seemingly perfect life; a life he imagined for Brooke and him. _

_"So how old are you two?" Jaso asked as they continued to wait for the plane to arrive. _

_"18," Lucas said. "We've been together for about a year, but we have a hell of a lot more history than that." Lucas said. He didn't exactly know why he was having such a personal conversation with a total stranger, but he was enjoying talking to the man, so he didn't think much of it. _

_"We're heading to Duke in a few weeks, too," Lucas added. _

_"Congratulations," Jason said. "I'm from the class of '83" he said proudly. _

_"Really?" Lucas asked. _

_"Yeah," the man said. "It was an incredible four years. I remember everything about it; going to the basketball games—" he said, but he stopped with he saw the smile appear on Lucas' face. "Do you play?" he asked. _

_"Yeah," Lucas said proudly. "My brother and I are playing together." _

_"Wow," Jason said. "Both of you? Some family." _

_"You have no idea," Lucas whispered under his breath. _

_There was another moment of silence between the two. _

_Lucas was about to speak again when something interrupted him _

_"Lucas!" he heard someone yell. It was an unmistakable voice; the voice of Brooke Davis. _

_Lucas quickly turned around and saw Brooke walking over towards him with a dimpled smile. _

_Lucas broke out in possibly the biggest smile ever. Not realizing his next moves, he dropped the bouquet on a seat nearby him and ran the now short distance towards Brooke. _

_She jumped into his arms and buried her face in his chest, savoring everything about him that she's missed over the past few months. _

_"God, I missed you, Pretty Girl," Lucas whispered in her ear. He still had a strong hug around her so he picked her up and spun her around; he couldn't describe how happy he was feeling at that moment because his Brooke had finally come home. _

_When Lucas finally placed Brooke back on the ground they still had their huge smiles on their faces. _

_Lucas leaned in an rested his forehead against Brooke's. _

_"I missed you," he said. _

_"I missed you too." _

_"I love you so much, Brooke." _

_Brooke's smile got even larger at hearing those words again. _

_"I love you too, Luke." _

_Lucas leaned in and placed a soft and lingering kiss on Brooke's lips; the familiar sense of love and passion running through them at the contact. They both deepened it for a few seconds, but reluctantly broke apart when they remembered that they were standing in the middle of the airport. _

_"Let's go home," Brooke said. _

_Lucas nodded, still smiling and wrapped an arm around her waist and began to walk with her away from the gate. _

_Lucas stopped a few steps ahead and picked up the bouquet that he had gotten for her. _

_"They're beautiful, Luke," Brooke said smirking a little as she thought about how Lucas had actually dropped them when he saw her. _

_When Lucas stood back up, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jason who was now hugging his two daughters and his wife. _

_Jason noticed Lucas standing there with Brooke. Lucas and Jason exchanged a knowing nod before he and Brooke walked off. _

_------- _

_"So," Lucas said as he and Brooke fell onto the bed. _

_"I'm exhausted," Brooke said, just wanting to crawl up into a ball and go to sleep, but she knew she couldn't, she had something very important to tell Lucas. _

_"Me too," Lucas said. "But it's good to have you back," Lucas said as he pulled her closer, reveling in her scent. _

_After they got back from the airport, everyone had insisted that they all meet for dinner at the café. So they all spent the last few hours catching up on the summer and looking forward to college. (AN: Duke starts later than most colleges, so instead of the end of august it's a week or so into September) _

_"It's good to be back," Brooke said, regretting the words as she said them. Her guilt wasn't about her not wanting to be there with Lucas, because she did; her guilt was from what she was about to tell Lucas. _

_"There's something that I need to tell you," Brooke said, figuring that she might as well get it over with. _

_"What's going on?" Lucas asked as he watched Brooke sit up and slightly distance herself from him. "Brooke is everything alright?" he asked. _

_"Do you remember how a few weeks after I left I was really lonely and tired and…do you remember what you said to me?" Brooke asked. _

_"Yeah, w—" _

_"You told me that after high school everyone goes out to follow their dreams and that some dreams are harder to come by than others. You told me that we were all going to have to make hard and painful decisions."  
"What are you saying?" Lucas asked. _

_"I'm only back for the long weekend," Brooke said, wishing this wouldn't hurt as much as it did. Lucas was so happy to see her, and she was happy to see him; but something about the way he kept telling her how much he missed her made her stomach tie up in knots. She missed him more than she had ever thought possible, but she knew what was coming next; he didn't, and so every time he told her how excited he was for Duke, she felt even more guilty. _

_"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked. _

_Brooke took a deep breath. "About a week ago my boss' boss' boss came to talk to me….He told me that he had seen some of my work from high school and the stuff that I had been doing with them…he offered me a job…like a real job." Brooke said feeling a little guilty that she was happy about that. "The way that it's set up is that I work for them, designing my own line and learning from everyone else and so forth…for a year…..I can put off Duke for a year, but if this works out then I may not—" _

_"Leave," Lucas finished her sentence for her. "So you're leaving again?" Lucas asked. He was crushed with what she had just told him, but deep down, no matter how hurt he was, he knew that this was her dream and that she needed to do this. _

_"Yeah," Brooke said sadly. "I am." _

_"Huh," Lucas said, trying to swallow the lump in his throat and somehow stop the throbbing pain in his heart. He thought that they were going to spend the next four years together happily, not be saying goodbye to her again. It was too hard to let her go, too hard to say goodbye; it was too hard to wake up every morning and know that he wasn't going to see her that day, and it was too hard to not be around her with her cheeriness and the intoxicating scent that she brought with her where ever she went. _

_"Lucas, I am so sorry," Brooke said, letting a tear fall down her cheek. _

_At Brooke's last few words Lucas finally pulled himself out of his thoughts. He looked at Brooke in the eye for the first time since she started talking and he could see the pain. _

_"Brooke," Lucas said soothingly as he moved closer to her and used his thumb to wipe away a tear. "Pretty girl," he whispered with a small reassuring smile on his face. "This is what you have to do." he said. _

_"I'm sorry," she repeated with overwhelming guilt. They had planned to go to college together and now she was just leaving. _

_"You can't let this opportunity pass you by, I would never expect or want you to. That doesn't mean it won't hurt like hell to be away from you…it just means that I understand why you have to do this. This is an incredible step for you." he said, trying to smile for her sake. _

_Brooke wasn't sure if she should believe him when he told her that he understood, but when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close into his chest, all her worries seemed to melt away and for the first time in months, she felt safe. _

_"What do we do now?" Brooke asked after a few minutes of silence as they savored each other's touch. _

_Lucas sighed deeply. "We enjoy the rest of this weekend; we don't take a second for granted." Lucas said sternly so that he could try to convince them both that everything would be okay. "Then you'll go to New York and I'll go to Duke and then we'll talk and visit and…I don't really know, but we'll get through it because we'll be together, even if we aren't physically together." _

_"Are you sure?" Brooke asked, needing him to have faith in them. _

_"Yes," Lucas said. "No matter what happens, we will end up together." _

_Brooke nodded slightly, praying that that answer will get them through what lies ahead for them. _

_"Right now," Lucas continued. "I just want to hold you in my arms, but we should get some sleep." _

_"Okay," Brooke said softly already close to sleep. _

_Brooke fell asleep quickly, but Lucas stayed up for hours, hoping more than anything that his words would turn out to be true. He couldn't lose her, not after everything that they had been through already. _

_

* * *

_

_January, end of winter break, freshman year (4 months later) _

_As Lucas waited for the elevator, he couldn't help but to think about how much he was going to hurt after what he was about to do. _

_This was the last week of the winter vacation for Lucas, Nathan and Haley, although Lucas and Nathan didn't have much of a break with the basketball season in full swing. They were lucky enough to get this weekend off, so the first thing that Lucas did was get on a train for New York. What he needed to do was not something that should be done over the phone. _

_He hadn't seen Brooke in months and their phone calls were now few and far between. _

_They still loved each other more than anything, but they had so much going on in their now separate lives that it was hard to stay close; Lucas had basketball 24/7 and Brooke had her budding career. _

_Every time that Brooke would call Lucas she would tell him how sorry she is for not calling more often or that she misses him so much and that she wishes she could drop everything and go visit him for a weekend. _

_Every time that Brooke calls and tells Lucas how much she wants to be with him at that moment it makes Lucas miss her more, love her more, and want to let her go more. _

_That's how he got to where he was standing at that moment. He was now outside of Brooke and Rachel's apartment (no doubt paid for by their parents). His heart hurt so much that he thought he was going to be sick. He knew that this would hurt Brooke, but he also knew that it was what was best for her. _

_He finally did it; he raised his hand up and knocked on the door with three painfully dull sounds for what was to come. _

_He had lucked out that Rachel was still at a guy's house so Brooke was home alone. _

_When she opened the door Lucas was taken aback at how good she looked. She always looked amazing, but Lucas hadn't seen her in months. _

_When she screamed his name and threw her arms around his neck her let himself fall into her touch for a moment, but then the immense feeling of guilt washed over him again. _

_"Hey," he said quietly, trying not to let his voice break. _

_"God Luke, it's so good to see you!" Brooke said truly happy as she led him inside. The apartment was very nice, too nice for two 19 year olds; further proving that the two girls had gotten their fathers to pay for it. Most of the place was very neat, but the kitchen table was a different story. It seemed to be divided in two; half was Rachel's books from NYU and the other half was all of Brooke's sketches and work stuff. _

_Lucas took a moment to look at Brooke's stuff; she was clearly making progress in her own personal line and her work for Victoria's Secret. _

_As they moved into the living room Lucas could see pictures of Brooke and Rachel with everyone from back home, as well as more than a few pictures of Brooke and Lucas together. His heart sank as he looked at all of their happy pictures together. _

_"I can't believe you're here!" Brooke said happily. Her voice was cheerful, but she didn't have the same bubbly disposition that she used to have; she was clearly tired. Between work, thinking about Lucas, and doing god only knows what with Rachel, Brooke was exhausted. _

_"How long are you in for?" Brooke asked. "Cause I'll see if I can get out of work s—" _

_"No," Lucas said. "You don't have to do that." _

_"Okayy," Brooke said a little confused but slightly relieved because she had plenty of things that she had to take care of at work. _

_Deciding that this could very well be the be the last time he saw her for a very long time, Lucas took a step forward to Brooke and captured her lips with his. It was a soft kiss at first, but it quickly grew deeper with the longing that they had felt for one another. _

_"I love you so much," Lucas whispered once they broke apart. His voice stayed low so that it wouldn't crack and reveal that he was about to begin crying. He had to be strong if he wanted to do this. _

_"I love you too," Brooke smiled. _

_"Can we sit?" Lucas asked, the lump in his throat reappearing. _

_Brooke finally realized the grave expression on Lucas' face and immediately sobered up from the high that seeing Lucas had brought. _

_"Luke," Brooke said confused. "What's going on?" _

_"I love you so much, Pretty Girl," Lucas started. "And I know what you said was true, people who are meant to be together always find their way in the end." Lucas said and Brooke smiled softly. "And Brooke I believe that, I know that we're meant to be….You are the love of my life," Lucas said. "But right now," he said, beginning to choke up. "You need to let me go." _

_"I—" Brooke said, not really understanding. "What are you talking about, Lucas?" _

_"I'm holding you back," Lucas said, his heart breaking when Brooke pulled her hand back away from his. In that moment, when he lost her touch, he lost part of his heart too. "I'm holding you back and you need to let me go. You need to focus on yourself and your career." Lucas said. _

_"You're not holding me back," Brooke said praying that she could stop him. _

_"Yes I am," Lucas said sadly but sternly. "We both know it. There are too many sacrifices that you will have to make if we stay together, and I don't want you to have to do that." Lucas explained. _

_Tears quickly escaped Brooke's eyes and rolled down her cheeks; her heart was being crushed. _

_Seeing Brooke crying always made Lucas heart break, but when Lucas tried to reach out and wipe the tears away, Brooke pulled back, breaking his heart even more. He knew that the damage was now done; he couldn't take it back. He had broken both of their hearts and now they both had to suffer. But he tried desperately to convince himself that he was doing the right thing for Brooke. _

_When Brooke pulled back she quickly stood and moved backwards as far away from Lucas as she could get. She couldn't believe that he was doing this. _

_When she had backed up so far that she hit the window sill, she winced when she realized that she had just knocked back a picture of the two of them. _

_"Brooke," Lucas pleaded. _

_"Go," Brooke said, pushing back the tears and letting the anger begin to flow out. _

_"Brooke," Lucas repeated. _

_"Go!" Brooke said louder and angrier this time. They both knew that the anger was there to cover the hurt. _

_"Fine," Lucas said as he stood. "But there is one more thing that I have to tell you before I leave." Lucas said. "And that's that I will always love you. We will be together again some day. We're going to get married and have a family, and we're going to be happy. I love you more than anything. I'm not giving up on us. I'm just trying to do what's best for you right now, and I know how messed up this all is, but one day you'll see why I'm doing this." Lucas said, letting a single tear fall from his eyes. _

_"Just go," Brooke pleaded quietly. "Please," she said as she let another tear slip out. _

_Lucas nodded solemnly and turned to leave, but right before he got to the door he turned back around. "I love you," he said quietly, then turned and left. _

_As soon as Lucas closed the door Brooke fell to the ground and broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. _

_Lucas was on the verge of doing the same thing on the other side of the door, but he had convinced himself that he was doing the right thing, even if it hurt this much. _

_Lucas made his way downstairs and into a cab. He headed for Penn Station and then onto the next train to Durham, ignoring the looks from the people on the train when they saw a grown man crying. _

* * *

"Brooke," Rachel shouted, snapping Brooke out of her glazed over state. "Open the fucking package!" Rachel yelled.

Brooke rolled her eyes, wiped away the tears, and finally got up to retrieve the package.

* * *

"Well boys," the coach said from the front of the bus. "Welcome to New York," he said as the bus pulled to a stop.

Lucas pulled his hood over his head to conceal his red and puffy eyes, grabbed his bed and got off the bus in front of the hotel.

He stepped onto the concrete and knew that this was it; this was his chance to get her back.

* * *

Well that's it! Chapter two. That should explain why they aren't together anymore.

Please leave reviews.

How do you want them to begin to get back together?

What's in the package?

Thanks,

-Allie


	3. Chapter 3

Here's chapter 3! I'm sorry to say that with the school week starting tomorrow, updates are going to slow down. The good news is that I have the basics of the story planned out, so it wont take that long to write when i get the chance to.

thank you so much to everyone that reviewed!

enjoy!

* * *

Brooke cut the tape off of the box and lifted two of the four cardboard flaps, but then she stopped.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked, growing impatient.

"What do you think it is?" Brooke asked.

"Well why don't you open it and find out instead of asking me, because I don't know!" Rachel said annoyed.

"What I meant was why do you think he's sending me a package like this out of the blue?" Brooke explained.

"Maybe he realized what a huge mistake he made and he finally wants to try again," Rachel said.

"Yeah, well he's three years too late," Brooke muttered.

"Is he?" Rachel asked.

"What are you talking about, Rach?"

"I get that you're still bitter and hurt and whatever, but you're clearly still in love with him, and my guess is that this package is only going to show that he's still in love with you."

Brooke sighed, hating to admit that Rachel was right.

"When did you start cheering for Lucas?" Brooke asked. "You hated him if I remember correctly."

"You're right. I'm not his biggest fan. He's into too much of that lovey dovey shit." Rachel complained.

"One day you're going to find some one who you actually want to act that way," Brooke said.

"I doubt it'll be anytime soon." Rachel replied. "Anyway, the only reason why I'm 'cheering' for him is because he makes you happy." Rachel said as if she didn't really care. "And the only reason why I'm acting so caring is because when you're not happy, _I_ have to deal with it."

"How sweet of you," Brooke said sarcastically.

"I know," Rachel smiled. "Please, just get this over with. Open it. See what's inside. Maybe it's a second chance."

Brooke stared at Rachel for a second, wondering if Rachel was messing with her head and at the same time appreciating the incredible friend that she has become.

Brooke took a deep breath, opened the last two flaps of the box, and then she and Rachel peered inside.

* * *

"Yo Luke," Nathan called as he walked out of the bathroom.

"Huh?" Lucas snapped out of his daze. Once they got to their hotel room Lucas collapsed on the bed and had been staring at the ceiling, his thoughts centered on Brooke the entire time. He knew he didn't deserve her, but he loved her, and he needed her back.

"You almost ready?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Lucas said as he sat up slowly.

"I wasn't talking about practice, man," Nathan said. "I was talking about you getting Brooke back."

"Right," Lucas said. Lucas didn't know how he was going to practice, let alone play later that night with Brooke on his mind like this.

"So when are you going to go see her?" Nathan asked.

"I was going to go today," Lucas said. "But we hit traffic on the way up so I don't have enough time, so I'll go tomorrow I guess."

"Okay," Nathan said. "As long as you go."

Lucas nodded, appreciating how much Nathan was looking out for him.

"So when is Haley getting in?" Lucas asked trying to change the subject.

"I think she's already here," Nathan said. "She actually got in before us, but she went to go visit a sibling or something. I don't know, she said I didn't have to come, so I'm staying out of it."

"Smart choice," Lucas said, knowing Haley's siblings a lot better than he would like to.

"Yeah," Nathan said as he grabbed their gym bags and threw Lucas his. "Come on, man. We gotta go."

Lucas took a deep breath and got off the bed.

* * *

Brooke peered into the box, but almost immediately pulled back and closed it up again.

"What the hell, Brooke!" Rachel yelled. "I thought you were going to look."

"I need to make a call first," Brooke said as she got up from the couch in her office and headed over to her desk.

"You have got to be kidding me," Rachel said incredulously.

"Nope," Brooke said as she dialed a number and hit the speakerphone.

"Hello?" Haley's voice rang through the room.

"Tutorgirl!" Brooke said happily.

"Brooke?" Haley said. "Hey! I was just about to call you."

"Really?" Brooke asked. She glanced over a Rachel who was staring at the box, inching to see what was inside.

"Yeah, actually I'm in the lobby of your office building, you think you could let me up?" Haley asked.

"You're what?!" Brooke screamed. "You're here?"

"Yeah, I'll explain everything, but can I come up?" Haley asked again.

"Of course, I'll call downstairs. See you in a minute," Brooke said.

"Bye," Haley said and quickly hung up the phone.

"I can't believe she's here!" Brooke said to Rachel.

"When she comes will you finally look in that damn box?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Brooke said, satisfying Rachel.

Within another minute Haley James Scott was walking through the glass doors of Brooke's office.

"Haley!" Brooke exclaimed happily as she got up and hugged one of her best friends.

"It's good to see you, Brooke," Haley said as they hugged. They hadn't seen each other in months; not since the last time that Haley came to visit. Haley had gone up to New York for a weekend every few months, but Brooke never went back to Tree Hill in fear of seeing Lucas.

"It's good to see you too," Brooke said. "I missed you so much."

"And she missed you too," Rachel cut in. "I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just getting a little impatient with Brookie over here," Rachel said. "So what are you doing in New York?" Rachel asked Haley. They weren't close friends, but they had some how become slight friends over the years for Brooke's sake.

"I'm uh," Haley stuttered. "I'm here for the game tonight."

"What game?" Brooke asked.

"Nathan and…Lucas are playing in the quarter finals at Madison Square Garden tonight so I'm here for the weekend."

"Oh," was all Brooke could say.

"But I wanted to see you, so here I am," Haley said with a lighter tone. "But I see you got his package," Haley changed to a serious tone again as she motioned to the box on the glass table.

"Yeah, you knew about it?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, I don't know what's in it, but I knew that he sent it."

"Well we were about to find out what's inside, would you like to join us?" Rachel asked, itching to see what was inside a package from a boy that hadn't made any contact with Brooke in over three years.

"Absolutely," Haley said as she walked over and sat next to Rachel.

"I guess I really have to open it now, don't I?" Brooke asked rhetorically as she sat down across from them and pulled the box open. "Here we go," she whispered under her breath as she opened the box once again.

* * *

"Hey Scotts!" the coach yelled from the sidelines of the practice. It was fairly laid back today; mostly lectures about the other team and going over a few plays. It was the end now so they were just taking a few free throws before they had to start getting ready for the actual game.

"Yeah coach?" Both Nathan and Lucas asked as they ran over.

"Everything look good from your view?" he asked.

"Yes sir," they replied.

"And how's everything going with you?" he asked turning more towards Lucas.

"I'm good," Lucas said half-heartedly.

"Look son," the coach replied in a more comforting tone. "I know that you have a life outside of basketball, and I know a lot about what's going on, and I'm sorry, but you made a commitment to this team," he said getting sterner. "You are the captain, you have to show your leadership and make sure that your teammates, especially the freshman, don't see you in a week spot."

"Yes sir," Lucas replied. He knew that he was acting distracted and that he had to do something about it.

"Now," the coach continued. "Are you boys ready for tonight?"

Nathan and Lucas nodded.

"Did you go over the scouting reports?"

They nodded again.

"Alright," he said. "Now, they don't call this the Elite Eight for nothing, they're going to be good, but just play your game tonight and we'll come out on top."

"Yes sir," Nathan and Lucas answered again. The coach gave them both a pat on the shoulder before they went back and gathered the team in the middle of the court for a players' meeting.

"Listen up!" Nathan said in a booming voice. He and Lucas were standing at center court and the rest of the players were kneeling around them.

"Welcome to Madison Square Garden, boys," Lucas said with a grin on his face. "We've worked hard to get here."

"And tonight," Nathan cut in. "We _are_ the better team. We will win tonight."

"Yeah!" all the guys yelled out.

"Are you ready to win tonight?!" Lucas yelled.

"Yeah!"

"Alight," Lucas said in a calmer voice. "Bring it in."

All the guys stood up and crowded around Nathan and Lucas as they chanted "Duke" quietly and rhythmically.

"Win on 3! Win on 3!" Nathan yelled and then Lucas cut in. "1! 2! 3!"

"Win!" they all screamed and then broke apart to go to the locker room and get ready for the game.

* * *

"Well?" Rachel asked as Brooke stared into the box. "What's in it?"

"Item number 1," Brooke said as she pulled out a single envelope that lay on the top. She carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

"Dear Brooke," she read aloud. "I know that you must hate me right now. The truth is that I hate myself now; I've hated myself since the moment I walked away from you three years, two months, and ten days ago. Everything in this package is a testament to how much I have missed you and how much I have loved you since we've been apart. There is so much that I want to say to you; so many things that I have to explain. It's all too much to put in a single letter. So, if you still love me, if you can find it in your heart to hear me out, please call me. I'll be in New York for a few days and I hope that I will see you. I know what you're thinking right now; you're probably cursing me under your breath for being so selfish. This is all my fault, and I know that, but what I also know is that I can't go on without you; there is an unrelenting pain in my heart that has been eating away at me for three years and I have to end it. I started this whole problem by trying to do the right thing for you, and it turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life. So now I'm going to be selfish. I'm going to show you how much I still love you, need you, and want to be with you again. You once told me that people who are meant to be together always find their way in the end. If you still believe that then please call me. I will always love you, Brooke Davis."

"Wow," Haley managed to say once Brooke was done reading.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed.

Brooke stayed silent.

"Should we see what else is in there?" Rachel asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Brooke breathed out and then reached inside and pulled out a smaller cardboard box. Inside there must have been hundreds of letters.

Brooke looked closer and realized that they all had something on the top right corner of the envelope.

She took the first letter out and examined it. In the corner it was marked as the first letter, dated on the night that Lucas left Brooke.

She looked at the next letter; number two, dated one week later.

She looked at the next letter; number three, dated one week later.

She kept looking through them. He had written one letter a week for over three years!

"Oh my god," Brooke mumbled. Rachel and Haley did the same when they saw what Brooke was talking about.

"Should uh," Rachel began to say. "Should we move on? I mean these are a lot of letters to read right now."

"Yeah," Brooke agreed. "I'll read them later."

Brooke fully intended on reading every single letter that Lucas had written to her.

Although she was angry with Lucas when she first opened the package, the anger slowly melted away when she realized that this wasn't something that was put together quickly; it was built up from his pain for three years.

Brooke reached in again and pulled out two photo albums.

In the first one she opened and looked through she found countless pictures.

Some were just of Brooke, some were of Brooke and their friends, but most were of her and Lucas together. In every picture she looked happy. She looked like the cheery girl she used to be, unlike now when every smile she put up was fake.

She was more than ecstatic with her success in her career, but that never overshadowed her misery without Lucas. She was never completely happy without him.

Brooke wiped away one of the many tears that had fallen since she open the package. She took a deep breath and composed herself.

As she reached for the next photo album she couldn't help but to wonder what Lucas was doing at that moment. Was he thinking about her? Or was he more focused on the rest of his life?

Brooke shook the thoughts from her head and opened the album.

Inside were newspaper, magazine, and tabloid clippings about Brooke and Clothes over Bros.

"Oh my god," was all Brooke could say again.

Lucas had clearly been keeping track of Brooke. If Brooke had ever thought that Lucas didn't care about what she had been doing, she was clearly wrong.

Lucas was so proud of everything that Brooke had accomplished; it was what had kept him convinced that he made the right decision for Brooke.

Brooke kept flipping through the book; every interview she had given was in there, every article reviewing her lines were in there. It was all there.

Brooke passed the album to Rachel and Haley and then took out the last two items in the package.

The first was Lucas's sweatshirt that she loved so much. The Keith's Body Shop sweatshirt always meant something special to Brooke. She smiled softly as she remembered telling Lucas one day that when Lucas wasn't with her, that hoody would make her feel safe. Engulfing herself in the soft material that always had his scent attached made Brooke feel like she was with Lucas somehow, like she was at home.

Brooke clutched the sweatshirt close to her, leaned down and inhaled the scent of it.

"Brooke?" Haley asked softly.

"Brooke?" Rachel asked this time.

"Yeah?" Brooke responded absentmindedly.

"Are you okay?" they asked, noticing Brooke losing herself in memories.

"Yeah," Brooke replied sadly. It was clear that she was lying.

She placed the hoody next to her and reached for the last item of the package.

It was a small wooden box with intricate carvings on it. Brooke remembered seeing it in Lucas' desk drawer a couple times, but she hadn't the slightest clue of what was inside.

Brooke unconsciously held her breath and opened the box. Inside were only two items. One was a small jewelry box and the other was a red feather.

Brooke picked up the feather at first.

"What is that?" Rachel asked.

Brooke thought hard for a moment, trying to figure out what this was from. What did a red feather have to do with any part of their relationship?

But then it hit her.

"This is from my Halloween costume, senior year."

"He kept that?" Haley asked rhetorically.

"Apparently," Brooke said, more than amazed that Lucas had kept that single feather for over four years.

"What's the last thing?" Rachel asked, breaking the silence.

Brooke shrugged and reached for the small velvet box.

When she opened it she was astonished.

Inside, lying gracefully was a beautiful engagement ring.

"Oh my god," this time it was Haley who was shocked. Brooke and Rachel were just plain confused.

"Hales," Brooke said, never taking her eyes off of the ring. "What is this?"

"Uh," Haley said, not knowing exactly how to explain this to Brooke. "The uh—"

"Please just spit it out," Rachel cut in, causing Haley to gain her composure.

"The summer after high school, Lucas and Nathan convinced Dan to let them reopen Keith's shop." Haley said. "Lucas worked in there for hours and hours on end. He basically slaved over the cars. At the end of the summer, he used all of the money that he had saved up and bought that ring for you." Haley said sadly.

"What?" Brooke choked out, finally looking up to see the expression on Haley's face. Brooke couldn't believe it, but Haley's look let her know that it was the truth.

"He was going to propose that Labor Day weekend," Haley continued. "But when you said that you were going back to New York, he decided that it wasn't the right time and that it might hold you back, so he tucked the ring away, deciding that he would use it eventually."

Brooke was speechless; the only sound coming from her was a sob that was muffled by her hands that were covering her face.

"I didn't think that he would send this," Haley mumbled.

"Brooke," Rachel said softly. "Are you okay?"

Before Brooke could answer two people entered her office.

* * *

Well? What did you think?

Please leave tons and tons of long reviews!

Thanks,

-Allie


	4. Chapter 4

Here's chapter 4!

I got this one up a lot faster than i thought i would. So thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, it really helped me get this up faster.

special thanks to: ariadnescurse, tigger167, LoVeBrucas, Shannon Marie, BDavis427, and BRUCAS EQUALS LOVE

enjoy!

* * *

"Brooke!" a stern looking middle aged woman came barging into the office. She stopped when she saw Brooke's tear-stained face. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Catherine," Rachel said calmly. "What do you need?"

"I need my client to put on some make-up and get ready to go," Catherine said seriously. Catherine Nicholas was Brooke's publicist. She worked at the top PR firm in the city, and held more power and influence than anyone would expect. She was strict, stubborn, and angry, but she was the best at her job and without her, Brooke wouldn't have half the status that she has today.

"Where are you going?" Haley asked.

"Don't tell me you forgot!" Catherine said exasperatedly.

"No!" Brooke finally spoke up. "Yes," she admitted quietly.

"What are you going to?" Haley asked.

"Big restaurant opening in midtown," Catherine answered for Brooke. "You and your date ha—"

"Whoa!" Haley cut her off. "Date?"

"It's complicated," Brooke said meekly.

"Complicated as in you're seeing someone else?" Haley asked in disbelief.

"No!" Brooke fought back.

"Would both of you calm down?" Rachel asked. "She's not actually seeing this guy –"

"Um," The guy finally spoke up. "I have a name."

"Yeah, we know," Rachel said. "We'll get to that in a second." she said and then turned back to Haley. "It's just for publicity. They'll never actually say that they're together, but if they show up at a few events together, then the press will have a field day and Brooke gets more publicity."

"Oh," Haley said. "So you're not seeing anyone?"

"No!" Brooke replied strongly. "I haven't been with _anyone_ since Lucas." she said, completely serious.

"Oh," Haley said quietly. She was relieved that Brooke hadn't been with anyone, but she also felt a little guilty for accusing her in the first place.

"Anyway," Rachel said. "That's David. He's a hot up and coming model who just signed some lucrative contract with Calvin Klein."

"And Rachel's sleeping with him," Brooke cut in.

"Okay, weird," Haley cut in.

"Whatever," Rachel said.

"You all realize that I'm still right here, right?" David asked, waving his arms.

"Yep," they all replied.

David was actually a good guy. He was extremely good looking, kind, pretty smart, and respectful. Not something you would expect from a model, which made him even more unique and appealing.

Rachel had met him in a class her second, and last year at NYU. They started off as casual friends, but now they were seeing each other for real. He was Rachel's first real boyfriend in god knows how long. In fact, Rachel was the one that convinced him that modeling was going to be the best way for him to get into the scene if he wanted to act eventually.

The only reason why Rachel didn't mind the publicity stunt that he and Brooke were putting up was because she knew that nothing would ever happen between them. Brooke has always been and would always be in love with Lucas; no other guys interested her.

"Let's go, Brooke," Catherine stepped in again, handing Brooke the dress.

"Rach, are you coming tonight?" Brooke asked, reluctantly taking the dress.

"Yep," Rachel replied, not really paying attention now that she was talking to David. Rachel came to most events with Brooke for three reasons: one, she like a good party; two, Brooke liked the support of having a close friend with her; and three, Rachel knew just as much about Clothes over Bros as Brooke did and could easily give a great interview about it.

"Brooke," Haley spoke up as she glanced down at her watch. "I have to go."

"What? Where? Why?" Brooke quickly whined.

"I promised Nathan I'd see him before the game which starts pretty soon, but don't worry, I'll make sure I see you tomorrow before I head back down to Durham."

Brooke smiled brightly at the thought of seeing Haley again the next day. They rarely saw each other anymore; talked all the time, but rarely saw each other.

"Well then have fun at the game, and I'll see you tomorrow," Brooke said as she gave Haley a quick hug and then began to fix her make up.

Haley was almost out the door of the office before she stopped and turned around.

"Brooke?" Haley asked softly.

"Yes, tutor girl?"

"Do you want me to say anything to Luke for you?" she asked tentatively.

Brooke thought for a painful moment. _Hi? I'll call you? How could you leave me?_ No, none of those would do.

"Tell him I got his package," Brooke said quietly and emotionlessly as she continued to put on her make up.

Haley nodded and left the room.

"Alright, Brookie," Rachel said coming over. "Let's get you all nice and pretty for your big night."

* * *

"Where'd you go?" Lucas asked Nathan who had just walked back into the locker room.

"To see Haley for a sec," Nathan said. "She told me to tell you that Brooke got your package."

Lucas' head shot up and he looked at Nathan for an indication that she said something else.

"She didn't say anything else," Nathan said, practically reading his brother's mind.

"Oh," Lucas said quietly. He was a little disappointed, but he was just happy that she had gotten it.

Lucas was about to speak again when his coach's voice cut him off.

"Let's go boys!" he yelled out into the room.

Every player in the room took a deep breath as they waited for Lucas and Nathan to get to the front of the group to lead them out onto the court.

"You ready, big brother?" Nathan asked.

"I guess so," Lucas replied, his mind unfortunately elsewhere. "You?"

"I will be once we win tonight," Nathan said, shaking off his nerves. "I know that she's taking up a lot of your thoughts right now, but please try to focus."

Lucas took a slow deep breath and nodded as they began to walk down the corridor and out onto the court.

* * *

Brooke was barely out of the limo and already she was already blinded by dozens of bright flashes.

Brooke took a deep breath and fully exited the car and waited as Rachel and David got out too so that they could head down the red carpet.

Brooke used to love events like this: big openings, lots of famous people, and lots of publicity. They would be the perfect opportunity to get a certain brooding blond off of her mind. Not tonight. Normally she would be able to put up her best smile and enjoy herself. Not tonight. Now, even her fake smile was starting to falter a little, and it didn't go unnoticed by Rachel.

"Let's go, Brooke," Rachel said softly, ushering Brooke to the reporters and paparazzi.

"Brooke! Brooke!" They all screamed trying to get her attention and she posed for pictures.

Brooke scanned the crowd. She had been to so many events that they all seemed to look the same at this point. The only difference was that some had cameras, video cameras, or just microphones.

"Are you two together?" she heard a bunch of them asking.

She focused her gaze on a few of the photographers.

One of them kept asking if she was with David. She was about to answer him when something about the man caught her eye. Something that made her stop short; the words disappearing from her throat.

He was wearing a Duke hat.

Brooke found herself staring at the big "D" on the front of it, almost forgetting that she had to answer their questions.

"No," she finally said emotionlessly, never taking her eyes off of the hat. It was like a big slap in the face. It was like Lucas was there, watching her, asking her if she was with David, asking her if she didn't wait for him.

"I never have been and I never will be," Brooke continued.

"Brooke," Rachel whisper-yelled as she stepped closer to Brooke. "What are you doing?" Rachel asked, already aware of the answer, but knowing that Brooke had to say it for herself.

"I can't be here," Brooke said, forgetting that she was standing on a red carpet and everyone could hear what she was saying.

"What uh," Brooke struggled to speak. "What time does his game start?" She asked nervously.

Rachel looked at her watch.

"25 minutes, but you're lucky that we're close," Rachel said.

Brooke nodded, taking slow deep breaths. She knew that she had to go see him, but she was still scared shitless.

"Brooke," Rachel said, waving her hand in front of Brooke's face.

"Yeah?" Brooke asked, not really paying attention. She was more concerned by the fact that she had just decided to go _see_ Lucas for the first time in over three years.

"There's a change of clothes and ticket in the car," Rachel said in a voice that reminded Brooke that through the bitchiness, Rachel was always looking out for Brooke.

Brooke gave her a confused look.

"I had a feeling you would want to go, so when I found out they'd be playing a few days ago I made some calls and go a ticket. It wasn't easy, but I knew you would need it."

"Thanks," Brooke replied with a half but genuine smile.

"Oh," Rachel started again, her bitchiness back. "It''s a front row seat."

Brooke sent Rachel and icy glare in disbelief. She thought that maybe she would be able to sneak in the back and not have to have Lucas see her, now he probably would and

Brooke wasn't sure if she was ready for that just yet.

"Yeah, yeah," Rachel replied to the glare with a smirk on her face. "Just go."

Brooke nodded and walked off the red carpet without so much as looking back.

* * *

Lucas was standing at the three point line during warm ups; he couldn't believe that he was actually playing in Madison Square Garden.

"Luke," Nathan said from behind him.

"Yeah?" Lucas said as he turned to face Nathan, taking his eyes off of the basket for the first time in minutes.

"How are you doing?" Nathan asked.

"Good," Lucas replied, surprised by his own confidence. Even though he thoughts would never fully leave Brooke, he was getting swept up in the game already.

"Yeah?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah," Lucas reassured him. "You?"

Nathan shrugged.

"Liar," Lucas grinned.

"Okay," Nathan admitted, raising his hands in surrender. "I feel like I'm the one with the heart condition the way my heart is pounding."

Lucas chuckled a little. "Yeah, me too."

"We can do this, right?"

"What?" Lucas asked. "Win?"

"Yeah, I guess," Nathan said, not really knowing what he had meant when he asked the question.

"It's pretty incredible though," Lucas said, picking up on his brother's thoughts as the buzzer rang and they made their way over to the bench. "Coming from Tree Hill and getting to this place," Lucas said as he motioned around.

He did a double, no a triple take.

"Nate?" Lucas asked, his voice cracking with emotion as he stopped short a few feet in front of the bench.

"What?" Nathan said, not picking up at the change at first.

"Tell me I'm not dreaming," Lucas said, never taking his eyes off of the impossible. "Tell me I'm actually seeing her."

This caught Nathan's attention and he quickly followed his brother's gaze.

"Yeah," Nathan said, suddenly worried about his brother's concentration and emotional levels. "It's her."

"It's her," Lucas repeated to himself. He could actually see her. She wasn't on TV or in a magazine this time. Brooke was actually there, less than fifty feet away from him, sitting in the front row, gaining a lot of attention from the people and photographers around her.

"Oh my god," Lucas whispered to himself. She was there. He wasn't dreaming. She was actually there.

When she finally looked up and caught his gaze, every nerve in their bodies jumped to attention.

Their eyes locked. They were trapped in each other's gazes. They were so far away, yet they felt like there were only inches apart, staring into each other's eyes.

Brooke had so many emotions running through her; she had no idea what to do; she practically had to remember to breath.

Lucas was shocked. He was so beyond ecstatic that he couldn't even smile, but from 50 feet away, Brooke could still tell that he was happy in his brooding sort of way.

Brooke gave him a small sad half smile and then bent her head down, running a hand through her hair mentally cursing herself for getting so close to letting tears fall here.

When Brooke broke the stare Lucas snapped back into reality and let Nathan pull him into the huddle.

Lucas was actually there in front of her and she couldn't figure out why, after everything that had happened, she was so mad at him, yet her heart still skipped a beat when she saw him. Part of her hated herself for still being so hopelessly in love with him.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked again.

Lucas thought for a minute, replaying what had had just happened over and over in his head. "Yeah," he said smiling.

Surprisingly, Lucas wasn't too distracted by Brooke. It was more like her presence made Lucas feel at ease. He knew that he still had a chance with her because she came to see him. That thought alone would let Lucas concentrate on the game.

* * *

When the buzzer sounded a few hours later, it was like an immense weight had been lifted of off Nathan and Lucas's shoulders. They had won and in three days would advance to the semi final game.

Lucas and Nathan were equally happy about the win. They had worked hard together the entire season and it was finally paying off. Just two more games and they could be national champions.

As amazing as the win was in basketball terms, it had a much larger significance for Lucas. It meant that they would be staying in New York for a while longer, giving him that much more time to win Brooke back.

Between all of the players jumping up and down in celebration, Lucas was somehow able to spot Brooke.

When he had finally found her, her eyes were already on him. In fact, they hadn't left him the whole night. Lucas had also been stealing glances over towards Brooke throughout the whole night, but Brooke's eyes never left Lucas.

Lucas smiled brightly towards Brooke and she returned with a small closed smile that showed no dimples. She was happy for him, but she was still hurt.

Lucas was about to take the first step towards Brooke when one of his teammates jumped in front of him, and pulled him back into the crowd where all of the players and coaches had already started celebrating.

By the time that Lucas had been able to loosen the grip that was holding onto him, it had already been a few long seconds.

When his eyes traveled towards Brooke's seat, she wasn't there. In just a few seconds she had disappeared. It had been three years. She was just fifty feet away from him. He still didn't get to say anything to her. He didn't get to tell her he loved her before she left.

Lucas felt like the air had been ripped out of his lungs when he realized that Brooke wasn't there.

He desperately looked around the arena. He could see Nathan hugging Haley, his coach talking to reporters, and the rest of his teammates and some fans celebrating, but no Brooke.

She was gone.

* * *

Well that's it! I hope you all enjoyed it.

Please leave tons of long reviews! i really appreciate them.

also, it its taking me some time to get the chapters up, dont hesitate to PM me and itll help me get the chapter up faster.

Thanks,

Allie


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5!**

**Sorry it took so long to get up. On Monday and Tuesday i had basically no work, but by wednesday night i was buried neck deep in it. it was horrible. Anyway, this is the next chapter. **

**thanks to everyone who reviewed!!! i love every single review. a special thanks to those who left an especially long one (you know who you are because i replied to the review)**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

Lucas held his face in his hands as he sat in front of his locker. It had been twenty minutes since he had realized that Brooke had left the arena, and he was confused. Clearly she had gone to the game. She couldn't have gone and expected not to see him, right?

Lucas shook his head and sighed. He had showed and changed back into his dress clothes and packed his bag up; yet somehow, he couldn't get himself to actually stand up and leave the locker room because he knew all he had to go back to was a lonely hotel room. He had already tried to find her apartment, but of course she wasn't listed. He didn't know what to do. It was like every ounce of energy was taken up by his pain and regret and he couldn't for the life of him stand up and walk out of the room, so he just sat there with his head in his hands until he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Hey."

Lucas didn't even have to pick up his head to know who it was. Haley. Of course, it was. She was always there for Lucas.

"Hey," he muttered, finally picking his head up to look at her sympathy filled eyes.

Lucas wanted so desperately to be able to get up and walk out of the arena with her and Nathan, but he just couldn't, it was like his legs were working anymore.

Haley knew exactly what was going on with him; the depression and pain in his heart was taking all of his energy out of him even though a few minutes ago he was running around the court.

Instead of asking right away if Lucas was ready to go, Haley pulled up a chair and sat down next to him as Nathan waited in the doorway for them.

"Luke," Haley said softly to make sure that she had his attention.

"Yeah?" he asked with a scratchy voice. One that was probably there because he was trying to hard not to cry.

"I'm not sure if Brooke would want me to do this," Haley said quietly. "But I think that it needs to be done."

"What does?"

"This," Haley said as she handed Lucas a small piece of paper. "That's her address. Go talk to her."

Lucas stopped staring intently at the piece of paper that was now in his hands so that he could look Haley in the eye. It was almost like she was pleading with him to go so that he could end everyone's misery.

Lucas nodded and finally stood up, grabbing his bag and heading towards the exit with Haley and Nathan.

* * *

Lucas, Nathan, and Haley were walking down the path that led from the arena. There were a few fans still there that were waiting behind the gates to hopefully get a few autographs. Lucas and Nathan gave a few autographs, but there weren't too many people there anymore. Most of the team had already left on the bus back to the hotel, so they were some of the last ones to leave.

Lucas and Nathan had more privileges than most players on the team for a few reasons; one, they were seniors; two, they were captains; three, Nathan was married; and the fourth reason was that they had never given any evidence to irresponsible behavior, so the coach trusted them completely to get back to the hotel at a decent hour and be prepared for anything they had to do the next day all while being good role models.

"Lucas?" A man's voice called from only a few feet away.

Lucas turned at the sound of the voice partly because it was asked as more of a question than a scream for attention and partly because it sounded familiar.

Lucas searched for the man who had called him. By the time Nathan and Haley had stopped walking and were watching Lucas.

"Jason?" Lucas asked, slightly confused as he found the familiar face.

"Hey," Jason said extending his hand. Lucas was surprised and happy to see him there. Another familiar face was a nice thing to see when he felt so lost. It was a weird coincidence to see him here after briefly meeting him three and a half years ago, but it made sense that he was there considering that Jason was an alumnus.

"How are you?" Lucas asked as Nathan and Haley began to walk over to see who Lucas was talking to.

"Good, and you?" he asked.

Lucas didn't know how to answer the question. The only other time that Jason had ever seen Lucas was when he was gushing about Brooke and then hugging her as if there was no tomorrow.

Instead Lucas went with the vague answer and gave a sheepish smile as he motioned MSG behind them.

"Right," Jason chuckled a little.

"So how is your family?" Lucas asked, trying to deflect the attention off of him.

"They're great. At the hotel now, actually. We're spending the girls' spring break here. They're 13 now, I can't believe it," he said, smiling proudly.

"Luke?" Nathan asked from behind him.

"Hey, man…right, sorry," Lucas said, laughing to himself a little. "Jason this is my brother, Nathan and my sister in-law, Haley. Guys this is Jason….I did catch your last name."

"Yeah, it's Redding, Jason Redding."

"Nice to meet you," Nathan and Haley said as they shook his hand. They had recognized the name from the story that Lucas had once told them.

"So what are you doing here?" Lucas asked.

Jason motioned to the guys behind them who slowly walked up to them.

"A couple of my college buddies and I wanted to catch the games. We kinda made a reunion out of it," Jason said.

"Damn," they heard one of the guys mutter as he pulled out his wallet and handed another guy a twenty.

"I told you he wasn't lying," the other one smirked as he snatched the twenty.

Lucas had determined that they were all very wealthy by their clothes, watches, etc., but he was amazed at the fact that when they were all together it seemed like there were a couple of young twenty-some things again.

"Sorry about them," Jason said. "They thought I was lying when I said that I knew _the _Lucas Scott."

Lucas laughed a little.

"Listen," Jason continued more seriously. "We're having a big alumnus brunch party thing tomorrow at the Parker Meridian. We'd love it if you and a couple other players came by."

"Uh, yeah," Lucas said wanting to talk to Jason more.

Jason scribbled something down on a receipt in his hand. "That's the information. We have to get out of here before it gets too late, but maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, definitely," Lucas said smiling a little.

"Haley, Nathan, it was nice to meet you," Jason shook their hands one last time before heading back with his friends and disappearing into a crowd.

"Okayyy," Nathan said.

"Yeah," Lucas said.

"That was weird," Nathan said.

"No, it was cool to see him again," Lucas insisted.

Nathan and Haley looked at him intently.

"You know," Nathan said. "It's been a while since I've seen you smile about something that doesn't have to do with basketball or Brooke."

"Yeah," Lucas said, hanging his head a little, ashamed of his depressed state.

"Speaking of…" Haley cut in. "Are you going to go see her?"

"Yes," Lucas answered immediately as he put one address into his pocket and pulled out the other. "I'm going now."

"Good luck," Nathan and Haley said at the same time and they linked arms and began to walk away.

"I'm gonna need it," Lucas muttered under his breath as he waved goodbye.

* * *

Brooke walked back into her apartment and tossed her keys and purse on the kitchen counter. She grabbed a bottle of water, hit the messages button on her answering machine and then leaned against the counter, looking out over her apartment as she listened to the messages.

Just like most other nights, Brooke hated coming home. Yes, her apartment was incredible; flawlessly decorated, situated on the Upper East Side, penthouse with a Park Avenue address. No, her apartment wasn't a happy place to go to. Maybe it was when she had Rachel and other friends over, but not when she came home and found herself completely alone.

Brooke's thoughts had been broken when the first message started playing. It was her dad reminding her that their brunch for the next morning was still on. Brooke and her dad had remained close over the past four years. He had helped her tremendously when she was first starting Clothes' over Bros, and now they made sure to meet for brunch at least two Sundays a month.

The next message was from Catherine, asking what the hell had happened at the opening that night.

Brooke sighed, decided she would call her the next day; she didn't need to deal with work now too. That was a fairly ironic thought to Brooke, considering she didn't want to deal with work so that she could focus on what had happened 'with' Lucas today. The irony came from the fact that during the past three years, Brooke had thrown herself into her work to avoid Lucas. She had become a sort of workaholic; investing herself completely in her new company and not worrying about her personal life.

The rant went on and Brooke rolled her eyes and began to wander into her bedroom as Catherine's message continued. Brooke had a large apartment, but the answering machine was loud so she was able to hear bits and pieces of the message as she changed her nice top in exchange for a simple tank top to relax in. Before she could change out of her jeans she heard Rachel's voice ringing through the machine so she ran out of her room and back to the kitchen to hear the full message.

_"Hey Brookie!" Rachel's voice rang out. "Just calling to check on you, because..." _

Brooke stopped listening when she heard someone knock on the door.

"Coming!" Brooke called out, assuming it was Rachel.

She was wrong.

When she opened the door she was surprised to say the least; in love, angry, and heartbroken to say the most.

"Lucas," she breathed out.

"Hi," he managed to choke out. There she was after all this time; an arm's length away and all Lucas wanted to do was reach out and touch her, but he knew it was too soon for that.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice turning icy. What right did he have to come waltzing back into her life after all this time?

"I had to come see y—"The beep of the answering machine rang out again, cutting him off.

_"Brooke?" David's voice echoed through the now dead silent apartment. "It's David. I'm just calling to see if you're okay. What happened to our date tonight?"_

"Date?" Lucas asked with pain that wasn't hidden at all. When he heard the word date, it was like someone had ripped out his heart right then and there.

Brooke didn't answer, instead she just winced. This wasn't supposed to happen. Granted she was angry with Lucas, but he didn't understand the situation and it would hurt him because he didn't know what was going on. No matter how angry Brooke was, deep down, she didn't want to hurt him.

_"You've never done that before," David continued. "…Just uh, give me a call if you need anything. See you soon." _

And with that the machine beeped one more time and the silence enveloped the room once again.

"Date?" Lucas asked again. "You have a boyfriend?"

Lucas had no right to ask about her personal life. Not after everything he did to her. So Brooke put up an icy cold exterior.

"What does it matter to you?" Brooke asked coldly.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Brooke asked incredulously every ounce of anger she felt in the past few years finding its way to her body in a split second. "Did you actually just say that you are sorry?"

"Bro—"

"No!" Brooke yelled as she began to pace around her apartment inadvertently allowing Lucas to fully enter. "You don't get to just show up and expect me to talk to you. You're apologies mean nothing to me anymore!"

Lucas was about to apologize again, but he realized that would just make her even more livid, so he was left with his mouth hanging open.

"What? You don't have anything to say to me?" Brooke was still yelling. "Cause you had plenty to say to me when you left me. Or how about that letter in that package you randomly decided to send me? Huh?" Brooke asked as she walked back up to Lucas. "Why did you have to do that?!" Brooke asked, shoving Lucas. "How could you be so self centered and not realize what that would do to me? How much that would hurt me?" She kept yelling.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Lucas said quietly; he was taken aback by her outburst and the violence in her eyes.

"Which time? When you sent that damn package or when you hurt me the day you left?" Brooke asked rhetorically. "Wait a minute, I take that back," Brooke said. "You didn't hurt me when you left. YOU KILLED ME!" she yelled slowly, her voice dripping with venom. "You killed the Brooke Davis that you used to know."

"I don't believe that," Lucas said shaking his head.

"What?!" Brooke shrieked as she shoved Lucas harder this time. "You don't know anything about me anymore! You don't know anything about who I am anymore."

"Brooke," Lucas said softly, catching her arms before she could shove him again in her blind rage. "Please calm down."

"Calm down?" Brooke asked; her voice ten levels higher. "You come crashing back into my life after all of this time and I'm supposed to calm down!"

"Broo—"

"Why don't you just go back to Peyton or some thing!" Brooke screamed in anger and turned away from him. For the first week after Lucas had left, Brooke was convinced that he had left her for Peyton, but after a report form Haley and Peyton had moved in with Jake in Savannah, she put those fears to left. It only left her more confused as to what had gone wrong in their relationship.

With those words, it was Lucas' turn to become mad. He was so outraged that she thought that he had gone to Peyton after their break up.

As soon as Brooke turned away from him, he grabbed her arm and spun her back around.

"You have got to be kidding me," he shot back in anger. "Do not even mention her! She has nothing to do with this!"

"Fine, go defend her again, whatever. I don't care anymore." Brooke said angrily. She knew that bringing Peyton into this was a mistake, but she was so enraged that she didn't really care anymore.

"No no no!" Lucas yelled. "I came here because there—"

"I don't really care why you came here!"

"Stop yelling!" Lucas raised his voice high as he held Brooke's wrists tightly so that she couldn't hit him again.

And then it was silent again. Brooke was so shocked by his voice level that she couldn't think of anything to say again. Instead she was stuck staring into Lucas' beautiful blue eyes. For a moment the love she felt for him swept back through her body, but just as quickly as it came, Brooke suppressed it with anger again.

Lucas lost himself and all rational thought as he stared into Brooke's hazel eyes, watching the emotions sweep through them. At that point, he did the only thing that he could think to do. He kissed her. Hard. He leaned down quickly and took her lips with his, and to his surprised Brooke started kissing him back.

She was angry and hurt and unaware of what she was really doing, all she knew was that it felt amazing to be kissing Lucas Scott again.

He pushed her backwards, farther into her apartment, his lips never leaving hers. Eventually he let go of her wrists in favor of cradling her head. At this point Brooke, surprising both of them, began to swiftly unbutton Lucas' shirt. When she was done, Lucas' hand made their way to the hem of her tank top, ready to take it off of Brooke. That's when the broke the kiss for the first time. They pulled away for a mere second so that Lucas could life the tank over her head, but when the came back to each other, something changed.

Lucas had his arms wrapped around her waist so that he could pull her closer, but they weren't kissing anymore. They were frozen with their lips millimeters apart. They weren't looking each other in the eye though, they were looking down. They were looking down to where Lucas' naked skin met Brooke's.

In the moment that their bodies touch each other, something had changed as if someone had turned on a light switch.

They couldn't do this. Not now. They had never had sex in anger and they never wanted to. The moment their bodies touched each other, the love came rushing back to them and they felt that amazing spark between themselves; the one that made them feel safe to be with the other.

Brooke swallowed hard, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"Lucas," Brooke whispered. She removed her hands from his neck where she had been clutching his blond hair and moved them to his arms. She gently detached them from her body and stepped back.

She bent down and picked up her tank and put it on so that she wasn't standing in only a bra and jeans. She also grabbed Lucas' shirt and held it out for him. If she had really had it the way she wanted it, Lucas would never wear a shirt again. He looked incredible. Brooke had stayed in excellent shape over the years, but Lucas looked much more muscular and in shape than he was in high school, and it only made him more handsome.

Lucas was still silent.

"Lucas take your shirt and leave," she said a little more sternly this time. "You shouldn't be here right now."

"Brooke," Lucas said softly. He was crushed that she broke the kiss, but he understood why. He was just happy that she didn't call the kiss a mistake because he was ecstatic to have kissed her again.

"No Lucas," Brooke said strongly. "You need to leave. Now."

"Bu—"

"No!" Brooke said, raising her voice more than she had intended, but it got the point across to Lucas. "I can't do this right now. You need to leave."

Lucas nodded solemnly, wanting to respect her wishes. He would be back the next day to try and talk to her again.

Lucas walked slowly to the door as he put on his shirt.

At the last moment he stopped and turned, already halfway out the door.

"I love you, Brooke," He whispered, but it was loud enough for Brooke to hear.

With that said, he quietly closed the door and left.

"I love you too, Luke," Brooke whispered before letting one tear fall. And then another, and another, until she was sobbing alone in the middle of her living room.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**

**ps- i live in NYC so ill probably make a few references to things around the city (like the parker meridian, which a hotel in midtown), so if you have any questions about things i dont explain well enough, just ask in a review and ill reply with the answer. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's chapter 6!**

**Sorry it took so long to get up. I had thought that i would be able to get it up earlier, but i had more to do than i had originally thought. **

**thanks to everyone who reviewed!!! i love every single review. a special thanks to those who left an especially long one (you know who you are because i replied to the review)**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

Lucas had taken a cab straight back to his hotel. As he walked down the hallway he could hear all of his teammates celebrating in their rooms. Even if he was happy about the game, celebrating was not something he was in the mood for, not with what had happened with Brooke still on his mind.

As he put his key card in the door he closed his eyes for a moment, and he could still feel Brooke's body against his; a feeling that he had missed so much. Thinking about it alone sent shivers down his spine.

When he entered his hotel room, all he wanted to do was get into bed and go to sleep, but no, there just had to be a note on his pillow saying his coach wanted to see him in his room. So he sighed, picked up his room key again and left the room.

He walked down the hall and lazily knocked on the door. In a matter of seconds he was being ushered into the room by his head coach.

Nathan was already inside, looking over some plays that were on a whiteboard in the corner of the room. When he saw Lucas he jumped up from his seat.

"What the hell did you do?" Nathan asked a little more harshly than expected.

"Good to see you too, little brother," Lucas replied. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the call I got from Haley ten minutes ago that said that she and Rachel were trying to comfort Brooke who I could clearly hear sobbing in the background."

Lucas just hung his head, once again, he had caused her more pain than he had intended.

"What is going on?" the coach asked them.

"Yeah, Lucas," Nathan agreed, crossing his arms and waiting for an explanation. "What is going on?"

"Look," Lucas began to explain as he leaned against a wall. "I went over there to talk to her, apologize, you know."

"So how did the crying mess happen?" Nathan asked as the coach just watched on, slightly amused.

"Like I said, I went over to talk. I mean, I saw her at the game, I thought it would be a good idea, but when I went over….she started yelling at me."

"I'm not surprised," Nathan said.

"Neither was I," Lucas continued. "So I was trying to get her to calm down wh—"

"And there's mistake number one," Nathan said, laughing a little.

"Oh, trust me, I'm aware," Lucas agreed. "But then she actually brought Peyton into the whole thing and that's when I lost it too."

"Oh man," Nathan muttered.

"Yeah, so it was weird, I was so angry and then I just caught her hands so that she wouldn't hit me again, and then we were just standing there and then…" Lucas trailed off, not really sure if he should continue.

"Let me guess," Nathan said with a smirk. "You kissed her."

"Yeah," Lucas said. "And then it got a little more heated an—":

"No, no, no, no, no!" Nathan said, raising his voice and waiving his hands in the air for Lucas to stop. "I don't want to hear the details of your sex life."

"Well you're not going to because nothing happened," Lucas said matter-of-factly. "Like I was saying, it got heated, but then we both just stopped after realizing what we were about to do…and then she asked me to leave," Lucas said, sounding a little defeated.

"And you just left?!" Nathan asked. "You shouldn't have left."

"I know, I was going to stay and try to talk to her again," Lucas said. "But when I looked at her, she didn't look angry anymore….she looked scared, of me or something." Lucas said, looking down and shaking his head. "I just didn't want cause her anymore pain in one night so I left and came straight back here."

"Oh," was all Nathan said. They stood in silence for a minute.

"Okayyy," the coach cut in, realizing the story was over. "You two can finish this discussion later, right now I just want to go over a few things with you about tomorrow."

Lucas and Nathan nodded and then took their seats on the edge of the bed.

"Right, so, we have a few things going on tomorrow. A quick press conference at 3:30, practice from 4:30 to 6, then a team dinner and then hopefully an early night because we're going to have a much harder practice on Monday."

"Okay," Nathan and Lucas said, understanding that as captains, they would have to keep everyone in line throughout the day.

"The other thing was about tomorrow morning," the coach said.

"About that, coach," Lucas cut in. "I ran into an old friend of mine, I guess you could say. Anyway, he's an alum and apparently there is some sort of brunch thing tomorrow that he wanted to know if I could come to, and…" Lucas stopped talking when he saw his coach laughing a little. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," the coach insisted. "But I actually have to go to the brunch too. It's being hosted by the school or something and they asked if I would take a few players. I was hoping you two and the other seniors would join me."

"Yeah, definitely," Nathan said and Lucas agreed.

"Great, so it's at 11 tomorrow, I'll be around to make sure you're ready in time and all that, but now we have some plays to go over."

Nathan and Lucas nodded and they got serious to talk about the game that night and the one they had in a few days,

* * *

"You think she'll be okay?" Haley asked as she and Rachel sat down each with a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, she will," Rachel said.

"But how do you know?" Haley asked. "She didn't even tell us what had happened."

Rachel had just happened to come over a few minutes after Lucas left, only to find a sobbing Brooke still in the living room. She immediately called Haley over for help and the two of them had spent 15 minutes alone trying to get Brooke to calm down. Once they did they had managed to get her to take a relaxing shower to clear her head. And that's where she was now. But Rachel and Haley didn't know that she was crawled up into a ball in the corner of the shower just letting the steaming hot water wash over her in hopes that it would some how ease the pain that she felt.

"I just know," Rachel said. "It was pretty easy to read her when I came in."

"What do you mean?" Haley asked.

"It was hard to notice because of the crying, but there were signs all over that explained what happened," Rachel said proud of the fact that she knew Brooke so well. "For instance, her lips were swollen, so clearly there was some making out. Her tank top was on inside out, so I'm guessing things got kind of heated, but her jeans still seemed to be intact, so I'd say that one of them stopped things before it went too far."

"Wow," Haley said, impressed by Rachel's assessment.

"Yeah, then just knowing Brooke, I'd say that there was some yelling involved before things got physical."

"Makes sense," Haley said quietly, looking towards Brooke's bedroom door where they could hear the shower faintly in the distance.

"So when are you leaving?" Rachel asked, breaking the silence that had formed as they thought about Brooke.

"Tomorrow morning," Haley said, looking down at her cup of coffee. She felt a little guilty for leaving Brooke in a time like this, but she had to get back to classes. The team would have their work e-mailed to them, but she was there on her own so she had to get back before classes on Monday.

"What time's the flight?" Rachel asked.

"Early, so I have to get back and pack, I just want to wait until Brooke gets out of the shower so I can say good bye."

"She's gonna miss you," Rachel said softly.

"I'm gonna miss her too," Haley said. They did talk on the phone all the time, but it was different from actually being around each other, and they had missed it. "But if the guys make it to the finals I'll be back for that game," Haley said.  
"Good," Rachel said. She and Haley surprisingly had formed some sort of a friendship over the past few years, and even if they weren't that close, they appreciated each other's presence because it really made Brooke happy. Brooke had done so much for them throughout the years that the least they could do was try their best to make her happy.

After a few minutes of catching up conversation they finally heard the water get turned off.

The only reason why Brooke had gotten herself to stand up and get out of the shower was because her hands were pruning and that was one of her pet peeves.

Brooke had barely gotten dressed when, just like she had expected, Rachel and Haley came into the room to check on her.

"Hey," Rachel and Haley said at the same time.

"Hey," Brooke said quietly.

"You okay?" They asked.

"Yeah," Brooke said shrugging a little as she brushed her hair. She had already changed into pajamas, so when she was done she just crawled into bed.

"I just want to go to sleep," Brooke admitted; the crying had tired her out and now it was only a matter of seconds before she fell asleep.

Rachel and Haley nodded in understanding.

"Brooke?" Haley asked softly as she moved closer to Brooke. "I'm really sorry, but I have to go."

"Yeah I figured you would have to leave soon."

"I'm sorry," Haley said.

"Don't be," Brooke said, trying to wave off Haley's guilt. "I'm just glad that you came."

Haley smiled appreciating Brooke's understanding. "I'll call you tomorrow when I land."

Brooke nodded and pulled Haley in for a hug.

"I'll see you soon, Tutor Girl."

"Definitely," Haley said as they pulled themselves apart. "But promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Try to work things out with Lucas, just hear him out, okay?"

Brooke sighed and then nodded reluctantly.

They gave each other one last hug before Haley left, whispering to Rachel to take care of Brooke.

Once Haley was gone, Rachel plopped onto the bed with Brooke.

"Can you stay here tonight, Rach?" Brooke asked quietly.

"I didn't plan on leaving," Rachel said reassuringly which made Brooke feel so much better. "I mean, I'm beat and you're bed is comfortable. Why else would I stay?" Rachel asked with a grin.

Brooke just laughed along with Rachel and then before she knew it, Brooke was sleeping.

* * *

The next morning Lucas reluctantly got out of bed and ready for brunch. He didn't get much sleep that night because he was thinking about Brooke and everything that had happened. She did have one extremely important point though, what right did he have to come waltzing back into her life? Lucas tried desperately to shake the thoughts from his head. He loved her more than anything. They were meant to be together. He had to get her back.

As Lucas did his tie while looking in the mirror, he caught a glimpse of Nathan as he came out of the bathroom rubbing his eyes.

Lucas laughed a little to himself. The other Scott brother wasn't sleeping well either. Nathan's reason, of course, was because Haley was leaving that morning and he already missed her. Sure they had some stupid fights over the past few years, but they've made it through college and it strengthened them.

Lucas was always happy for Nathan and Haley, but he was also a bit envious of them. He wanted to be happy with Brooke so much that sometimes it was hard to see Nathan and Haley together.

"You ready to go man?" Nathan mumbled.

"Yeah, you?"

"As long as they have coffee, I'm game."

Lucas laughed shaking his head as they left the hotel to meet up with everyone else downstairs. The people going were Lucas, Nathan, and few other seniors who they were close with, and Coach K, the head coach.

"Okay," Coach said as they walked into the hotel after a short cab ride. "Like I said, it's 11:15 now, you guys don't have to stay past 1 or 1:30, but make sure you stay in the room because they may want to make an announcement about the team or something," he said as the players nodded along. "Just go around, talk to people, and don't say anything too stupid, you know the drill."

They all laughed and nodded again.

"There are going to be some pretty influential people there so…"

The coach kept talking, but Lucas had stopped listening. He had stopped dead in his tracks. The large hallways in the lobby were covered in mirrors, and somehow in one of the reflections, Lucas had managed to catch sight of Brooke Davis. Same hotel. Same time. _Must be fate_ he thought.

Lucas looked a little closer and could see her being seated in the restaurant with an older man who he quickly realized was Richard Davis.

Lucas desperately wanted to go over to Brooke and say something to her, but he didn't want to interrupt her time with her father and he didn't want to make a scene, so he allowed Nathan to snap him out of his daze and lead him to the elevators because their event was on the top floor.

He would have plenty of time to talk to her later that day, so he didn't want to impose on whatever she was doing.

During the elevator ride up all Lucas could think about was how beautiful and happy Brooke looked. He probably would have thought about her for hours, but the dinging of the elevator bell snapped him out of his thoughts as they exited on the top floor.

* * *

Brooke sat down at the table with her father. She was exhausted; her eyes were still sore from crying so much the night before, and she didn't sleep well as she thought about what had happened with Lucas. Even if that was all weighing on her, she wouldn't show it; she was genuinely happy to see her father. She saw him every few weeks and she had missed him a lot since the last time she had seen him.

She had grown pretty close to him too; he was there for her financially and with business strategies when she was first starting Clothes over Bros. In fact, he had gotten so close with him, that she and her mother had attempted to reconcile for his sake. Now they were civil towards each other. They didn't talk much, but when they saw each other, they seemed to be happy about it which made Richard feel much better about his relationships with both of them.

"So what are you going to get this time?" Richard asked his daughter as they picked up their menus.

They were sitting in at Norma's in the Parker Meridian. It was a famous restaurant. It only served breakfast and brunch. It was especially crowded today because it was a Sunday, but being the Brooke Davis, Brooke was easily able to get a table for two for her and her father. And Brooke was a regular at Norma's. Breakfast had always been her favorite meal and this place had the best breakfast in the city.

"Not sure," Brooke replied quietly. She loved that restaurant, but today as she looked over the menu that she had practically memorized. Today was different though. Her eyes scanned the page but she wasn't reading the words; instead she was thinking about how much she missed it when Lucas would wake up early and have pancakes ready for her, or when he would bring her breakfast in bed, or even on the mornings when they would snuggle up in a booth at Karen's Café and sit for hours over a huge breakfast alone or with all of their friends.

Brooke sighed heavily at the memories.

"You okay, sweetie?" Richard asked when Brooke didn't respond.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Brooke replied unconvincingly.

"Let me guess," he said as he put down his menu and pulled off his reading glasses so that he could get a better look at Brooke. "Lucas?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Brooke nodded and looked down, almost like she was ashamed that he was affecting her this much.

"He came to see me yesterday night," Brooke said quietly.

Richard wasn't really surprised. He knew that Lucas would be in town for his games.

"And?" Richard said, trying to get Brooke to talk about it more.

"I just don't understand why he's coming back into my life now? Why does he choose now to start caring again? He just left me. How am I supposed to forget that?" Brooke asked, not really expecting an answer from her father.

"If I tell you some things will you promise to really listen to me and not interrupt or anything?"

Brooke looked at him with a confused expression, but eventually nodded.

"The first thing is that you need to understand why he left," he said trying to choose his words carefully so that Brooke wouldn't get upset. "He left because he had thought it was the best thing for you, and honestly Brooke, do you think you would have gotten to where you are today if you had a relationship weighing on your conscience the whole time?"

"Da—"

"Do you think you would have run off to Paris or Italy for weeks at a time if you had Lucas to consider? Do you think you would have completely dedicated yourself to your work if you were thinking about going to visit Lucas or felt guilty about not seeing him as much as you should have?"

Brooke tried to speak, but she just couldn't form the words. Her dad was completely right. Maybe Lucas had done the right thing for her.

"Brooke, do you think it was easy for him to let you go? Because I don't think it was. He did it because he wanted you to succeed, to get everything you ever dreamed of."

Brooke sighed again. She knew her father was right, but it didn't take away the relentless pain she has felt.

"Yeah, well I didn't get everything I dreamed of," Brooke finally said. "I didn't get Lucas."

"Yes you did," Her father replied sternly. "You have his heart, you always will, you just need to let him back into yours."

"Since when did you get into the mushy and inspirational speeches?" Brooke asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Her dad just shrugged with a grin on his face.

"And what was the second thing?" Brooke asked after they ordered.

"Huh?"

"You said 'the first thing' which implied a second thing," Brooke pointed out.

"Right," Richard said, taking a deep breath. This was the hard thing to talk about. "I have a feeling that you might hate me after I tell you, but you should know."

"What are you talking about?" Brooke asked.

"Trust me when I say I'm always on your side, but you should never say that Lucas didn't care about you over these years, because he did."

"Yeah?" Brooke asked with a bit of sarcasm. "How do you know that?"

"Because he calls me."

"What?!" Brooke said, snapping her head up in attention. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Well because I knew you would do that," he said referring to her outburst. "I knew it would hurt you to know that he was calling me and not you, but most of all I didn't tell you because I didn't think he wanted me to."

"What do you mean you didn't think he did? Wouldn't he just tell you he didn't want you to?" Brooke asked much calmer this time.

"No he wouldn't," Richard said calmly. "The only way I ever knew it was Lucas calling was because of caller ID."

Brooke didn't understand what he was talking about.

"The first time he called me he was going on about how sorry he was that he hurt you and that he had to do it for your sake, I mean the kid was practically crying to me."

Brooke laughed a little thinking about Lucas crying to her father.

"After that he would call, but it was like he was too ashamed to talk to me so he would just stay silent on the other line. Like I said, the only way I knew it was him was because of the caller ID."

"So what happened when he would call you?" Brooke asked more interested than angry.

"He wouldn't say anything."

"What do you mean?"

"He literally wouldn't say anything," Richard tried to elaborate. "It was like there was no one on the line. I would have thought that the person had hung up if I couldn't here him breathing or background noise or something."

Brooke was more confused than ever. "Then what?"

"Well after a minute or so of silence I would finally start talking."

"About what?"

"You."

"Me?" Brooke asked, as if her father and her ex would talk about something else.

"Of course, you," Richard had to laughed a little. "I would tell him what you've been up to; mostly about your success, and I would always tell him that you missed him….and right after I did that I would always hear his breathing get heavy and then he would just hang up."

Brooke stayed silent, not knowing how to react.

"You said once a month?" Brooke finally managed to say.

"Yeah," Richard nodded.

Brooke nodded absentmindedly. Maybe she should _really_ talk to Lucas; get everything out in the open and then see how she feels about him again.

"Did I tell you about the package he sent me?" Brooke asked.

"No."

Brooke went on to describe the contents to a somewhat stunned Richard Davis.

When Brooke had gotten to the part about the ring she got a little teary eyed again, and that's when she decided that she didn't want Lucas to ruin her morning with her father, so they decided to talk about anything and everything besides Lucas.

* * *

Upstairs, Lucas wasn't doing much better at keeping Brooke off of his mind. He was having casual conversations with different alums. When they invited the players and Coach K to the front of the room he and Nathan had given the perfect speech about how they were going all the way this year.

It wasn't until later into the brunch that he had first seen Jason who had previously been busy with some people.

They talked for a while about his life; his family and what it was like to be watching Duke play again.

Then Jason asked about Lucas' life, and when Lucas gave a really vague answer about school and basketball, Jason knew that something was up, and for some reason, Lucas felt compelled to tell Jason about everything that had happened.

It was weird to talk about it with him because the last time that Jason had seen Lucas, he was in the airport hugging Brooke and telling him how in love they were.

When Lucas had finished the story, Jason only had one question and that was if Lucas still loved her and wanted to spend his life with her. Lucas' answer was 'yes', plain and simple. To that, Jason told him to fight for her and never give up. Jason told Lucas about how even though his life seems pretty perfect now, it didn't mean it was a hard road to get there, but if something means enough to you, you fight for it and never give up.

And that's when Lucas left the event and headed back towards Brooke's apartment.

* * *

After brunch, Brooke and her father decided to walk off the meal, so they walked around the city for a while before Brooke was picked up by her car and was driven home.

Brooke's apartment building always had two doormen in the lobby at all times so that no strangers could get in, so when she got out of the elevator on her floor, the last thing she expected to see was Lucas sitting on the floor by her door.

But there he was, waiting for her to come home. He had to argue with the doormen for 10 minutes before he called Rachel who convinced them to let him upstairs.

"Lucas," Brooke said, beyond shocked to see him there.

"Hi," Lucas said as he scrambled to his feet.

"What are you doing here?" Brooke asked as if she didn't already know. She couldn't figure out why, as he stood there shyly in front of her, all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and kiss him.

"I needed to see you again," Lucas said, digging his hands deep into his pockets. "There are so many things that I need to tell you and –"

"Why don't you come inside," Brooke cut him off, not read for one of his speeches in the hallway.

Lucas nodded and watched as she dug through her bag, looking for her keys. Once she found them she unlocked the door and led Lucas inside.

As soon as Brooke had put her things down Lucas got ready to speak again, but before he could the shrill sound of his cell phone ringing interrupted him

"Are you going to answer that?" Brooke asked after the second ring.

"That's not what's important right now," Lucas said.

"Just answer the phone, Lucas," Brooke said.

Lucas pulled out his phone and checked the front screen which read 'Nathan'. Lucas found it odd considering he had told Nathan that he was going to see Brooke, so he assumed that Nathan wouldn't call him

"Hello?" Lucas answered the phone. "Well yeah, I'm with her right now, why are you calling?...what do you mean?...you've got to be kidding me….yeah I know!...I'll be there….okay, bye."

"Is everything alright?" Brooke tried to ask with as little emotion as possible.

"Yeah, no," Lucas said. "Everything's fine, it's just that I have to go."

Brooke raised an eyebrow.

"I know, I- god, I just want to be here with you right now, there are so many things th—" Lucas cut himself off and sighed. "Our press conference was moved up an hour, and if I'm not back at the hotel in 30 minutes, my coach won't let me live to play in the next game."

"You should go," Brooke said. She was disappointed that he had to leave, but she was also relieved that she didn't have to deal with everything at that moment.

"Brooke."

"No, it's okay, really," Brooke said as she stared out the window. "It's going to be hard to get a cab," Brooke said, motioning out the window where it was pouring rain.

"Yeah, I guess."

This time it was Brooke's turn to sigh as she took out her cell and quickly dialed a number.

"Richie?" Brooke asked into the phone. "Yeah, it's me. Are you still downstairs?...Great. Look, I'm sending down a guy to see you, he's wearing khakis, a blue dress shirt, and a brown jacket…yeah, take him where ever he needs to go….yeah…thanks…see you later."

Lucas was clearly confused.

My driver is downstairs in a black Mercedes, he's waiting for you," Brooke said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Brooke said. "You should go, I don't want to make you late."

Lucas nodded sadly.

"Brooke?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I see you again? Like really come over and just talk to you?"

Brooke hesitated. She really did want to see Lucas, but she knew it would be painful.

"Yeah. Tomorrow night, you can come here if you want." She finally answered.

"Thanks," Lucas said with a half smile. At least she wasn't yelling anymore.

With that, Lucas turned and left.

As soon as the door shut, Brooke fell onto the sofa and put her head in her hands.

"What am I going to do?" she kept mumbling to herself.

* * *

Lucas went downstairs and got into the car that was waiting for him. Richie took him directly to the hotel. Thanks to Brooke, Lucas wasn't late.

Lucas sat through the press conference trying desperately to hide the pained look on his face as his thoughts traveled back and forth from Brooke to the basketball questions he was being asked. PLUS he had to go through a two hour practice as soon as the press conference was over. _Wonderful_ he thought sarcastically.

Lucas probably would have felt better if he knew that back uptown, Brooke was sitting in her apartment watching Lucas in the interview on ESPN.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's chapter 7!**

**This chapter cuts off right before the good stuff, i know it sucks, but i had to put something really important in here before i moved on to the really good brucas stuff.**

**also, is there something wrong with the site right now? because no one has posted anything in a while and every time i try to do something i just get an "error" screen. if you know whats going on or know how to fix it, please tell me in a review. **

**thanks to everyone who reviewed!!! i love every single review. a special thanks to those who left an especially long one (you know who you are because i replied to the review)**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

The next morning Lucas woke up to the shrill sound of the hotel phone ringing right in front of his face. 

Groaning, Lucas just rolled over and pulled the covers up over his head.

"Lazy ass," he could hear Nathan mutter as he answered the phone.

"Wake up!!!" Nathan yelled, while pulling the covers off of Lucas two minutes later.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lucas mumbled. "It's 830! Practice doesn't start until 11."

"Coach just called everyone; he wants us to take 'em for an hour run."

"Please tell me this is a sick joke," Lucas begged as he finally opened his eyes.

"Yeah, I wish," Nathan said as he stretched and got out of bed. "Dude, come on!" he yelled when he saw Lucas try to go back to sleep.

"Fine!" Lucas yelled as he got up and out of bed. "This sucks," he muttered.

* * *

"Brooke," Rachel said in an annoyed voice as she stood in the kitchen waiting for Brooke. "I'm all for exercise and staying in shape, but does it have to be at 8:30 in the morning?"

"Today it does!" Brooke said as she walked into the room. "Running is a great way to start the day."

Rachel shot her an 'are you kidding?' look.

"And it's a great way to keep my mind off of Lucas."

Rachel sighed, she knew about their talk they were going to have that night and it was probably killing Brooke just to think about seeing him again.

"Fine," she muttered.

"Thank you!" Brooke said, grabbing her keys and leading Rachel out the door.

* * *

"Alright, let's slow down," Nathan yelled out after about a half an hour of running through Central Park.

Lucas and Nathan had led the silent run that morning. Nobody was speaking, everyone was focusing on the game they had the next night.

"Circle up and stretch!" Lucas ordered.

The entire team spread out on in the section of the field and circled around Lucas and Nathan stood in the middle as they led the stretches.

* * *

Rachel and Brooke had also been running throughout central park for a while when Brooke suddenly stopped.

"You okay?" Rachel asked. Brooke never stopped during a run; she would push herself until she was finished.

"Honestly, did I do something in a past life?" Brooke asked as she stared across a section of the park while trying to catch her breath.

"Excuse me?" Rachel asked, staring curiously at a now pissed off Brooke.

"I can't even go on a run without seeing him. This is getting ridiculous! It's supposed to be a city with millions of people, why can't I get away from him?" Brooke said while throwing up her arms in frustration.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked slowly.

Brooke just pointed to the other side of the field where they could see the entire Duke Basketball team stretching.

All Rachel could do was laugh. Brooke had dragged her out on a morning run so that she could forget about Lucas, not see him.

"Why don't you go and talk to him?" Rachel asked in a pseudo innocent voice.

"Because I have no idea what to say to him right now! I'll see him tonight, that's enough for one day!"

"Fine, fine, fine," Rachel gave up. "But I'm going over to say hi, are you sure you don't want to come?"

Brooke nodded with a very pissed off smile.

"Okay, then," Rachel said, shrugging Brooke off just to make her even more angry. The whole situation was amusing to Rachel. "Well I'm going to see them, I'll see you at work in a few!" Rachel said in an all too chipper voice.

Rachel started to jog across the field, causing Brooke to yell for her a little louder than she had intended too. The outburst caught the attention of few other people running through the park. Brooke groaned in frustration and then ducked her head and began to jog the other way.

* * *

"Well, well," Rachel said as she sauntered up to the team. "What do we have here, boys?"

"Hi Rachel," Lucas and Nathan said unenthusiastically at the same time.

"You two know her?" a couple of their teammates asked in awe of the hot girl standing in front of them.

"Unfortunately," they both mumbled.

"You're just bitter because you are the only two guys in high school I _didn't _screw."

"So Rach!" Nathan said in a fake friendly manner. "Why are you interrupting our workout?"

"Workout? Please," Rachel replied nonchalantly. "Brooke and I are in better shape than you."

"Brooke's here?" Lucas asked, his head shooting up in attention the moment he heard her name.

"Nope, she ran the other way when she spotted you."

Lucas sighed guiltily and looked around the park, hoping to spot Brooke, but she wasn't there. That's when he noticed that the team wasn't stretching anymore and more murmuring amongst themselves.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked the team.

No one wanted to answer at first.

"Marcus?" Lucas asked one of the other seniors who he was closer with.

"We just can't figure out how a married guy and a guy that hasn't even looked at a girl all four years can be approached by _her_," he said being completely honest.

Lucas and Nathan laughed a little, realizing he had a point.

"High school," all three answered together.

"Let me guess," Adam, a junior cut in. "They both tried to get with you?" he asked Rachel.

"Actually no," Nathan said as he switched stretches. "She tried to seduce us both."

"And when that didn't work, she went for Nathan's uncle Cooper."

Rachel tensed visibly at the mention of Cooper's name.

"What, it didn't end well?" Marcus asked.

"If by well, you mean them crashing a limo off of a bridge on my wedding day, yeah, it ended fantastically."

Everyone raised their eyebrows at Nathan's explanation of what had happened. Not many of them knew much about the infamous Tree Hill drama.

"As much as I love this trip down memory lane," Rachel said sarcastically. "I actually came over for a reason."

"What's that?" Lucas asked.

"I just want to know what you plan on doing tonight with…" Rachel trailed off as she pulled her buzzing blackberry out of her jacket pocket. "Speak of the devil. It's Brooke. She'll probably yell at me for not being in the office even though she just walked in I have no doubt."

Lucas laughed quietly to himself, it sounded exactly like something Brooke would do.

"Hello?" Rachel answered. "Well actually I'm still with Nathan and Lucas," she said, emphasizing Lucas' name. "Anything you would like me to say to him?" Rachel asked Brooke who on the other line was basically frozen. "Nothing?" Rachel asked, surprised at the silence. "You mean you don't want me to tell him that you're still completely in love with him?" Rachel asked with a sly grin as she stared at Lucas who was listening intently to Rachel's side of the conversation. "Hello? Hello?" Rachel said and then looked at her phone. "The bitch hung up on me!"

Lucas couldn't help but laugh a bit harder this time. He had always found Brooke and Rachel's friendship incredibly amusing.

"Maybe I should get into the office," Rachel laughed a little.

Lucas and Nathan nodded in a 'no shit' kind of way; they both knew the wrath of Brooke Davis.

"Well I'm sure I'll see you two sometime soon," Rachel said giving them both friendly hugs goodbye. "Good luck tomorrow night. Bye boys," Rachel said seductively before winking and walking away to call Brooke back.

* * *

Lucas could barely concentrate the entire day. In fact Nathan 'accidentally' hit him in the chest twice with passes because Lucas wasn't paying attention.

Normally playing basketball came naturally to Lucas. The ball was in his hands and instinct took over. Not today! Today he had to think about everything he was doing; it was the only way to keep his head in the game and away from thoughts of Brooke.

At 4:30 the team was let out of practice to go get some school work done. All Lucas could do was pray that he could get something done or else he would be digging himself into an academic hole for when he got back to the campus. In all four years, Lucas had kept up very good grades. The only exception was a few weeks during the semester when Lucas ended things with Brooke. He found himself in such a depressed state, that he just stopped going to class, stopped caring about going out, stopped caring about anything except Brooke really.

Uptown, Brooke wasn't doing a much better job concentrating on her work; most of the time she found herself staring out into the distance thinking about what she was going to do that night when he was coming over to her house.

Just before 5, Rachel knocked on the glass doors to Brooke's office. This was extremely unusual. Rachel never knocked; not if Brooke was on the phone or in a meeting or anything. She just strolled right on in everyday, but not today. For the first time in months (since their last petty fight) Rachel and Brooke had been avoiding each other for most of the day. It wasn't that they were mad at each other, but Brooke was so high strung on emotions that she didn't want to talk to anyone all day.

"Is it safe to come in waving a white flag?" Rachel asked as she walked in.

"Mines already waving," Brooke replied softly, relieved to be talking to Rachel again.

Rachel sat down in one of the chairs in front of Brooke's desk and for the first time in a really long time, they found themselves in a silence.

"So," Rachel said, finally breaking it. "I'd talk about work, but there's nothing that you don't know already and I really don't want to talk about work. It's been a long a busy day."

"I wouldn't know," Brooke said, laughing a little to herself.

"Why?"

"Because I haven't really gotten anything done."

"Let me guess," Rachel said, getting more comfortable in the conversation. "He who shall not be named is on your mind."

"It's kinda like I'm wearing a big sign that says 'I'm an emotional wreck'."

Rachel laughed a little. Brooke was always great at hiding her emotions. She was especially good at separating her personal life and her work life, but in these past few days Brooke's pain was evident to everyone.

"You've been here long enough, why don't you go home," Rachel suggested.

"It's barely 5," Brooke said, sighing disappointedly at the clock. Brooke spent way too much time at work, so going home at 5 was early for her; Brooke had even go so far as to spend a good amount of her Saturdays in that office.

"You should go home, relax, and think about what you're going to say tonight."

"Yeah, I know," Brooke breathed out.

"Annnd," Rachel said as she stood up and walked to the table and leather couches on the other side of the large office. "You should take this home," Rachel said, motioning to the contents of Lucas' package that were still spread out around the table.

"You're definitely right about that," Brooke said as began to close some of the documents on her computer.

"What's this?" Rachel asked as she reached into the box which they had both presumed to be empty.

"What are you talking about?" Brooke said as she got up and walked over to Rachel.

Rachel pulled out a jewel case with a disk that had been hidden by one of the flaps on the bottom of the box.

Brooke took the disc and looked curiously at it.

"I don't know, I didn't see it the other day," Brooke admitted.

"Well?" Rachel asked. "Put it in the computer, let's see what it is!"

"Okay, okay!" Brooke said as they both went back over to her desk, the put the disk in, and waited for it to load.

"You think it's like a mixtape or something?" Rachel asked.

"Maybe," Brooke said laughing a little. "He always told me that one day he would make a tape with every song that reminds him of us."

"God that's cheesy."

"I know, bu-" Brooke cut herself off when a window appeared on the screen. "It's not a CD," Brooke said. "It's a DVD."  
"Of what?" Rachel asked.

"Clearly, I don't know!" Brooke hissed.

"Sorry!" Rachel said in a tone that showed how she didn't mean it at all. "Maybe it's a sex tape of you two!" Rachel said giddily.

"I doubt it," Brooke said. "That's not really his style," she said, laughing a little.

"It says May, 2007 in the corner," Rachel pointed out.

"Finally!" Brooke said after it had finished buffering. "Play," she muttered as she pressed the play button.

"Oh my god!" They both said together.

"Is that prom?!" Rachel asked.

"Oh my god," Brooke said slowly and quietly this time as she pressed paused before any words were spoken from the video.

"Wha- why'd you stop it?" Rachel asked.

"I uh, I just need a second to prepare myself," Brooke admitted. She knew exactly what was on that tape; maybe not the precise words, but she knew.

Brooke took a deep breath and stared at the paused image of them on the screen. They both looked incredible dressed up for prom. In fact, they looked perfect together. Brooke just couldn't believe that he still had that tape.

"Okay," Brooke whispered to herself as she slowly pressed play again.

_"Is it playing?" Brooke asked as she got comfortable in Lucas' lap._

_"Yeah, see the green light," he said pointing to the camera in front of them._

_"Right, whoops," Brooke shrugged it off, giggling a little. "So what are we supposed to say?"  
"I guess we can make a sort of time capsule thing; like say where we want to be in the future and talk about where we are now," Lucas suggested._

_"Right, well right now we're in the Durham Fieldhouse, so graciously named after Whitey, and incase we're senile or just really dumb when we watch this, it's prom," Brooke stated matter of factly. Lucas couldn't help but laugh a little._

_"More importantly," he cut in with a more serious tone. "We're together. Together and madly in love."_

_"Cause he's the guy for me," Brooke finished his sentence with a dimpled smile, one that didn't seem to leave her face that entire night._

_"Exactly!" Lucas added enthusiastically._

_"But really, we could probably go on for hours about our entire relationship; all the memories and the drama and everything, but that would be a waste of time because I know that there is no way in the world that either one of us could forget everything that has gotten us to where we are now." Lucas said. He stared into Brooke's eyes for a moment and let all of the memories play before him like a slide show._

_"The fact that we are together just goes to show how crazy our relationship must be. I mean, he's broody, I'm cheery. I could go on about all of the things that we are complete opposites about."_

_"But it wouldn't change the fact that we love each other, because the heart has reasons that reason does not know."_

_"Exactly!" Brooke said, mimicking his earlier outburst.  
"So why we're really doing this is to talk more about the future." Lucas said. "You see we're going to end up together, we don't know how, and we know that it's going to be a bumpy ride, but it'll be worth it." Brooke said._

_"We know that we're going to end up together because—"_

_"People who are meant to be together always find their way in the end," Brooke finished his thought as they stared lovingly into each others eyes._

_"Always," Lucas whispered. "So what do you think, Pretty girl? Should we end it there?"_

_"I think that's a perfect place it end it," Brooke said smiling._

_They leaned towards each other and kissed softly but passionately. When they broke apart they leaned their foreheads together with gleeful smiles._

And that's when the video cut off.

"Huh," Rachel said after what seemed like 15 minutes of silence but was really only about 15 seconds.

Brooke stayed silent.

"Are you going to say anything?" Rachel asked.

Brooke shook her head no. Brooke had already known what the video was going to say, but seeing it was different. Watching herself with Lucas was something different. Seeing those two people look at each other with such love felt like it was ripping out her heart, but it also made her accept the fact that as much as she tried to deny it, she was still and would always be in love with Lucas Scott.

"I should go home and get ready," Brooke said emotionlessly as she packed up her things, including the package, and left her office, leaving Rachel sitting at the desk hoping that Brooke would do the right thing that night.

* * *

_This is it_ Lucas thought, trying many different lines to psych himself up as he walked towards Brooke's apartment building from the corner of Park Avenue.

This was his chance; to apologize, to make everything right, to win her back.

_This is it_ he whispered to himself as he walked through the doors of Brooke's apartment building

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Next chapter will be their talk (i've already planned most of it out, so it shouldnt take _that_ long to get up)  
**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter 8!**

**Let me just say that the only reason why I was able to post this now is because i had a SNOW DAY!!!!!!! it was so stupid, it was only snowing half the day (the other half of the time it was raining), but the bus company deemed it too dangerous to get to and from school. so at 6:26 this morning i get a wake up call from my friend who starts screaming into the phone that we have a day off. and thank god! we both would have failed this history test we were supposed to have today. annnnnyway, i'm just in a giddy mood cause i didnt have school and im posting a new chapter.  
**

**thanks to everyone who reviewed!!! i love every single review. a specially thanks to those who left an especially long one (you know who you are because i replied to the review)**

**i want to acknowledge ariadnescurse, FinallyPJ, and LoVeBrucas for their reviews and such for the past chapter. thank you sooo much! **

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

_Was he serious?_ Lucas asked himself about the doorman as he stood in Brooke's elevator, watching the many floors tick by before he arrived at the penthouse.

When Lucas had entered the building he said he was there to see Brooke Davis. Before Lucas had even taken a step towards the elevator, the doorman ordered him to wait until he had informed Miss Davis.

Although Lucas was grateful that there was good security, all he wanted to do was just show up on her doorstep in a really romantic. Instead, Brooke was told he was he was here to see her and then he was given permission to go up and see her.

When he had come over the other day Rachel was able to convince a younger and much nicer doorman to let him up. Clearly Rachel they trusted Rachel and not him.

So when Lucas stepped out of the elevator on the top floor, he sighed heavily when he saw Brooke's door already open and no Brooke in sight.

He had pictured him showing up. Brooke would open the door and stare at him in a slight surprise. Then they would be caught in a lovers gaze for what felt like forever.

Not gonna happen.

Lucas tentatively approached the door and peered inside. Brooke wasn't in sight. Lucas sighed again, partly because of disappointment and partly because of nervousness. He quietly entered and closed the door behind him.

He looked around the apartment for a second. He didn't get a chance to the last time he was here. He knew that if he really looked around he would find little signs of the Brooke that he always loved. He loved them for two reasons; one, he loved all of Brooke's quirks, and two, he loved the fact that her presence was always felt wherever she stayed.

Before he could look closely around the room he saw Brooke standing in the doorway of what he presumed to be her bedroom.

She was standing in a tight light blue tee shirt with her hair flowing over her shoulders and grey sweatpants. Brooke always looked good, but Lucas loved it when she dressed down. When she really relaxed and just hung out with him; that's when he got to know her; that's the way he loved to picture her.

"Hi," he said quietly. He wanted to tell her she looked beautiful, that he missed her and that he was still in love with her, but he knew that it was too soon for that.

"Hi," Brooke said, hesitant to move closer to him.

"So," Lucas said, trying to think of something to say to break the silence. There were so many things that he wanted to say to her, but right now, looking at her, he couldn't remember any of them.

"Can I start?" Brooke asked.

Lucas nodded, still in a little shock from seeing her again.

Brooke motioned for Lucas to sit on the couch in front of them, but he was more than disappointed when she sat curled up on the other side of it; clearly trying to stay as far away from him as possible.

"Before we get into…whatever this is, I just need to clear up a few things."

Lucas looked confused.

"The first is that I'm sorry for bringing Peyton into this the other day, but I was looking for something to throw at you and she was the only ammunition I could come up."

Lucas nodded understandingly.

"Also, they guy who left that message, David," Brooke said; Lucas cringed slightly at the reminder. "I just thought that you should know that he's not, nor has he ever been, my boyfriend. Actually, he's Rachel's. He's a model and the date he was talking about was some stupid publicity stunt," Brooke said, shaking her head at the antics of her publicist and the fact that Brooke listened.

When she finished talking about David, Lucas let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Of course he had been jealous and angry and hurt when he heard the message. Hearing this made him feel so much better about what he was doing. The truth was if Brooke was happy with someone else and she didn't want to give him another chance, he would have let her go. It would have been hard, but he wouldn't have sacrificed her happiness for his own, because as much as he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the woman in front of him, he wanted her to be happy more than anything.

"With that said……I've been trying to figure out what to say to you all day," Brooke said with more confidence in her voice than she expected. What she didn't expect though, was not being able to look him in the eye when she spoke. Lucas quickly picked up on it when she stared off into the distance while talking to him.

"I've been trying to figure out what I could possibly say that will put into words what I've been going through, what I've been feeling for the past three years….because no matter what I come up with, it still doesn't say it all. I mean, how do I express how much you hurt me or how many times I've cried myself to sleep missing you," Brooke finished quietly.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said quietly, bowing his head in shame.

"I know," Brooke said softly, surprising both of them. "I know you are."

"No," Lucas cut in. "I don't think you understand. Sorry really just doesn't cut it. I know I can't take back what I did, but that doesn't me I don't regret it. Because I do. Everyday I wish I could've made different decisions because I promised I wouldn't hurt you, and I did…and I'll never forgive myself for that." Lucas said. He wanted to continue, tell her about the days when he wouldn't get out of bed because of how guilty he felt and how much he missed her, but he didn't because he knew that bringing that up would be self deprecating and that's the last thing he wanted to come across as. He didn't want to be throwing himself a pity party in front of her, he just wanted to win her back, and he knew that self pity was definitely not a way to win Brooke Davis back.

Brooke didn't respond. She listened to what Lucas said, but she didn't know what to say in response. So they just sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Brooke?" Lucas eventually asked, finding the silence unbearable.

"Why now?" Brooke asked, still not able too look at him as she spoke.

"What?"

"Why now? Why not a few months ago or last year? Or why not in a few months after you graduate?"

She had a point. Why now? Lucas just knew that it was time, but he also knew that that answer wouldn't cut it.

"Do you remember midnight madness senior year?"

"How could I forget?" Brooke asked, laughing bitterly at what had happened that night.

"That night I asked you how I was supposed to know how to fight for you."

"Lucas," Brooke said softly, trying to stop him, but he ignored her interruption.

"You told me I was just supposed to know. Well now I know."

Again, they were enveloped in silence.

After another minute Lucas was about to say her name again, but Brooke cut him off by abruptly getting off of the couch and getting her laptop off of the kitchen table.

As Lucas watched her, he noticed his package sitting open on the table next to the laptop, but Brooke went on as if it wasn't there. It was clear that she had gone through it, but she still hadn't said anything about it, and Lucas doubted that she would.

When she came back she opened the laptop and rested it in her lap, focusing on the screen instead of looking at Lucas.

"When you left, it was like I didn't know what to do anymore," Brooke admitted. "I was at a point where I just didn't know how to go out and be me anymore. This is of course before I realized the only way to act like everything was okay was to throw myself into my work." Brooke said sighing a little at the end. "But after a few days I decided to do what you and Peyton do. I just started listening to music, just letting the sounds take me to a place where I felt better, where everything was okay, you know?"

Lucas nodded; he had done the same thing.

"So a few nights after I started listening I decided to switch to shuffle, just let the right song come up instead of trying to choose it." Brooke said and then took a deep breath. "I guess you could say there are pros and cons to a shuffle because a song came up…I don't even know how it got onto my ipod, but it was there….and I just listened to it over and over and over again and it was kinda like fate for it to come up out of all the songs I have." Brooke said. She stayed silent for a moment, but then hit play and the soft sounds of MoZella filled the room.

Brooke closed her eyes and tried to suppress the tears that were beginning to form as she listening to the song.

When Lucas heard the first few bars he knew exactly which song it was. The guilt that felt like it could eat away at him quickly returned as they listening to the lyrics.

_"It's almost like you had it planned  
It's like you smiled and shook my hand and said  
"Hey, I'm about to screw you over, big time"  
And what was I supposed to do?  
I was stuck in between you and a hard place  
We won't talk about the hard place_

_But I don't blame you anymore  
That's too much pain to store  
It left me half dead  
Inside my head  
And boy, looking back I see  
I'm not the girl I used to be  
When I lost my mind  
It saved my life_

_It's how you wanted it to be  
It's like you played a joke on me  
And I lost a friend  
In the end  
And I think that I cried for days  
But now that seems light years away  
And I'm never going back  
To who I was"_

Brooke hit the pause button and then slowly opened their eyes. They didn't need to listen to the rest of the song, let the lyrics play repeat themselves like they were taunting the two.

Lucas felt like he was going to be sick; it was like the lyrics described the day he came to end things with her.

"Broo—" he started softly, but was once again cut off by Brooke who didn't even seem to notice that he was speaking. It was like she was in a trace when she talked about these songs.

"And then the night after your game, I thought maybe I should listen to the music again. I hadn't really sat down and listened for a few weeks, and it seemed like the perfect time," Brooke said with a surprising hint of bitterness in her voice. "So I turned on my ipod to shuffle again, and whaddya know, another MoZella song comes and bites me in the ass," She said, beginning to get angry or frustrated; Lucas couldn't quite tell which one.

Brooke hit the play button again, and this time "Amazed" came playing through the speakers

_"Your picture is on my wall  
It helps me remember you  
and I recall  
how I'm amazed  
I still love you the same  
Yeah I'm amazed I still love you the same  
I still remember  
the shape of your hands  
The times when you'd walk with me  
and make me laugh  
and I'm amazed  
at how much we've changed  
Yeah I'm amazed  
I still love you the same  
and each night I see you in my sleep  
And I'll always dream that  
you're here with me  
and I'm amazed  
I still love you the same  
Yeah I'm amazed I still love you the same  
Yeah I'm amazed I still love you the same"_

As soon as the first "I still love you the same" played, Brooke put her laptop down and began to pace through the living room as the song continued to play.

"I want to hate you so much!" she started, sounding livid. "I want to never look at you again or think about you again because you left me when I really needed you. But I can't!!! I can't forget you, and I don't want to. And it makes me hate myself for still being so in love with you!" Brooke said, not conscious of the tears that were now streaming down her cheeks.

It wasn't until she choked out a sob that she realized she was crying.

As soon as Lucas heard that first sob, he was on his feet and moving toward her. Lucas approached her carefully and slowly wrapped his arms around the hysterical, broken girl before him.

At first she resisted; she pushed and hit his chest trying to get out of his hold, but he just tightened his embrace. And soon Lucas felt her go limp into a sobbing mess in his arms. He wasn't ready for this, and she was slowly slipping from his grasp, so he carefully led her to sit on the floor in the same spot.

Brooke wasn't aware of what she was doing through the tears, but she knew she was safe. She knew this because Lucas sat right behind her and placed her between his legs so that she could cry into his chest as he kept his strong arms around her.

* * *

After about 5 minutes of Brooke breaking down in Lucas' arms, she had finally calmed down enough for Lucas to move her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and another under her knees and gently picked her up.

He brought her into her room and placed her softly on the bed. When she didn't let go of him, Lucas kicked off his shoes and crawled into bed with her, pulling her as close as possible

For a few minutes he could feel her still her sniffling into his neck, but then he heard her breathing even out. Once he was positive that she was sleeping, she let himself drift off too.

Even if it was only 6:45 at night, they were both exhausted. The emotions that they were dealing with had drained them of their energy.

* * *

He didn't know how long it had been, all he knew was that Brooke was sleeping peacefully in his arms, just like she should be.

The only reason why he was even up now was because of the buzzing of his cell phone in his pocket. He carefully detangled himself from Brooke and got off the bed, pausing every few seconds so that he wouldn't wake her up.

He left the room and closed the door almost the whole way. He left it a little bit open so that he could keep an eye on her.

"Hello?" he answered his phone right before it went to voicemail.

"Thank god, Luke!"

"Nathan? What's wrong?" Lucas asked.

"Where the hell are you?" Nathan shouted into the phone while Lucas tried to keep his own voice low.

"I'm still with Brooke, why?"

"Have you looked at a clock recently?"

"No, we were sleeping, whyyyy," Lucas held out the last syllable as he looked at his watch; it read 9:20. "Shit," he muttered louder than he had intended to.

"Exactly," Nathan yelled. "Tomorrow's game day; we have an early curfew, you know that!"

"I know, I know!" Lucas said. "Has Coach noticed I'm gone yet?"

"No, but I can only keep him away for so long. I'm sorry that I'm interrupting whatever you two are doing, and by the way I expect the full story when I see you, but you need to get your ass back to the hotel yesterday!"

"Yeah, okay, okay," Lucas said, rubbing the back of his neck; he was suddenly at lot more stressed than he would have liked. He had to go back if he wanted to see the light of day ever again, but at the same time, the last thing he wanted to do was leave Brooke.

"Just get back her man," Nathan said in a softer voice. "Shit, I gotta go, someone's knocking on the door." Nathan hung up to leave Lucas staring at the time on his phone, muttering to himself.

"Everything okay?" He heard Brooke's voice from behind him.

Lucas turned around to see Brooke leaning against the wall in the doorway. Her eyes were still a little red from the crying and she was visibly tired, but all Lucas could think was _damn, she looks just as sexy as she did in high school_.

Lucas quickly shook away the dirty thoughts that were finding their way into his head.

Lucas tried to speak, but he didn't know how to explain.

"Just spit it out, Luke," Brooke said.

The moment he heard her call him 'Luke', he eased up.

"That was Nathan, I have to get back to the hotel as soon as possibly or else I'm going to miss curfew."

As disappointed as Brooke was, she couldn't help but laugh a little. It had been a very long time since she had to worry about curfews.

"Don't laugh!" Lucas fought back, laughing a little himself, grateful to feel so comfortable with her again. "You thought my mom's punishments were harsh? Coach K will rip my head off!"

When Brooke finally got her giggles in check, she realized just what Lucas meant. He had to leave again.

"I _have_ to go, but I _really_ don't want to leave you," Lucas said as if reading her mind.

"I don't want you to go either, but we don't always get what we want, do we?" Brooke asked, shocking Lucas with her pessimism. The Brooke he knew never spoke like that; she was all about having faith.

"Come with me," Lucas suggested out of no where.

"Huh?"

"Nate can crash with some freshman or something," Lucas elaborated. "Come with me."

"Lu—"

"Please, I don't want to leave you tonight," Lucas said. "And that look in your eyes says that you feel the same way, so why not?"  
Brooke stayed silent for a minute, eyeing him carefully. In her head she was going through and insanely long ramble about how she should just go with him instead of letting her head get in the way of her heart.

"Fine," Brooke sighed. She moved past him and slipped on some flats, grabbed her phone, keys, cash and jacket as Lucas watched on silently. "You ready broody?" Brooke said, instantly freezing when she realized what she had just called him. She was too absorbed in her inner freakout that she didn't see the smile play across Lucas' lips.

"Yeah," he said smiling. He grabbed his shoes and jacket and followed Brooke out of the house.

* * *

The cab ride to the hotel that Lucas was staying at was short and silent, but he didn't mind, he was sitting next to Brooke, and right now, that was more than enough.

When they got there Lucas practically tip-toed past his coaches room and Brooke had to stifle a laugh at the sight of him.

They got to his room and when Nathan saw Brooke there, he was quick to go and find another place to sleep.

Lucas changed and they quickly joined Brooke in bed.

They didn't say another word to each other that night. They both knew that they had so much more to talk about the next morning, but for the time being, all they wanted to do with be in each other's arms.

---

They had been laying in bed for about 15 minutes, and Lucas was pretty sure that Brooke was sleeping.

"I love you, Pretty Girl," Lucas whispered.

Brooke heard it loud and clear.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Next chapter will hopefully be posted by late tomorrow night  
**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's chapter 9!**

**It's pretty long, so i hope that makes up for the fact that i didnt update last night. **

**thanks to everyone who reviewed!!! i love every single review. a big thanks to those who left an especially long one (you know who you are because i replied to the review)**

**i want to acknowledge ariadnescurse, FinallyPJ, LoVeBrucas, and BDavis427 for their reviews and such for the past chapter. thank you sooo much! **

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

Lucas loved waking up with Brooke next to him. Brooke would have probably been thinking the same thing had she not still been peacefully asleep next to him. 

As Lucas opened his eyes, he didn't care about the time or their uncertain future; all he knew is that he wanted to wake up with Brooke in his arms every morning.

It was the way that when he woke up, she was as close to him as possible and his arm was wrapped securely around her. It was the way that she fit perfectly into his form like they were made for each other. It was the way he could bury his head in her neck and breath in the scent of Brooke and her shampoo or the perfume she wears. It was the way that no matter what was going on feeling the steady rise and fall of her breathing always calmed him down and made him feel safe and happy.

It only took a few seconds for Lucas to realize this. Then he realized why he was awake so early; someone was at the door. When they began knocking for the second time, he could feel Brooke begin to stir in his arms. He looked over and watched as she opened her eyes slowly. Even at his angle, Lucas could see the realizations and memories come flashing back to her. His heart felt like it was going to stop; did she regret everything?

Brooke definitely didn't regret what had happened. She hadn't felt better in the last three years than she did in that moment in his arms. The only problem was that she was scared; well, more like terrified. She was terrified that Lucas would hurt her again, that they wouldn't be able to work things out, that everything was moving too fast; terrified of letting herself love Lucas again.

Then she realized that Lucas was awake and watching her.

She shifted herself so that she was now facing Lucas; their faces mere inches apart, both with small smiles playing across their lips. And then Lucas took a big risk. He leaned in and kissed her softly, and to his surprise, she didn't pull back or get angry. Brooke knew that if this was a different situation, then she would be angry with him for doing that, but there was something about being there in his arms that just made everything feel right.

"Hi," Lucas said softly, smiling brighter than before.

"Hi," Brooke replied in the raspy voice that Lucas loved.

Lucas was trying to think of what to say next when his thoughts were interrupted by someone at the door again. This time the knock was much louder, indicating that the person behind it was very angry.

Lucas sighed in disappointment. "Sorry," he whispered before getting up.

Even with all the drama and uncertainties, Brooke couldn't help but notice how good Lucas looked as he walked to the door in just boxers. But then she remembered that she was only in a tee shirt and tiny boy shorts. Brooke sat up quickly, looking for the sweatpants she had discarded the night before. She spotted them on a chair on the other side of the room, but before she could get up to get them, she heard Lucas open the door.

"Hi!" Lucas said, clearly nervous and trying to act innocent.

"Good morning Lucas," Coach K greeted him in such a nice voice that it was clear that he was angry. "Can you explain why I came to wake you up this morning and I found your brother trying to sneak back into your room?"

Lucas sighed. "Thanks a lot Nate," Lucas said to Nathan who was standing tiredly behind their coach.

"I'm waiting," Coach said.

"Right, uh…" Lucas was desperate to find an excuse, but he just couldn't come up with one.

"You better come up with something fast!" coach said sternly before pushing Lucas aside and stepping into his room. "Nevermind," he said quietly when he found Brooke extremely embarrassed in Lucas' bed.

Coach turned around so that he was facing Lucas (who was equally embarrassed) and he closed his eyes in anger as he tried to find something to say.

"Heeeyyy Brooke!" Nathan said awkwardly as he fully entered the room.

"Nathan!" Brooke said enthusiastically; despite the situation, she was happy to see him. "Can you hand me my sweatpants?" She said seriously.

Nathan was trying with every ounce of will power in his body not to laugh as he reached over for her sweats.

"And don't even think about laughing," Brooke said as she slipped them on.

That comment, of course, sent Nathan over the edge.

"Nathan," coach said between gritted teeth. "Stop laughing."

"Yes sir," Nathan said suppressing his laughs and trying to keep a straight face.

"Now," Coach said, his voice rising. "Can you explain to me what the hell is going on?"

Nathan smirked, realizing that neither Lucas nor Brooke would be able to come up with a sufficient answer.

"Why is my captain over sleeping on game day with a girl in his room?"

Lucas still couldn't seem to form any words and Brooke was too embarrassed to step in, so Nathan took the situation into his own hands.

"Coach," Nathan said softly but seriously as he approached the man who was still fuming. Nathan leaned in tentatively so that he could whisper something to the coach. "You know the girl that's got Luke so depressed?"

The coach nodded slightly.

"That's her," Nathan continued to whisper. "Trust me, her being here is a good thing."

The coach sighed in frustration but also in understanding. He was about to reprimand Lucas again when his blackberry started buzzing and he took it out. He leaned again the wall as he began to read and reply to an email.

"So," Nathan said in a suggestive voice, still finding the whole situation a little funny. "What'd you guys do last night???"

"Sleep!" both Lucas and Brooke replied.

Nathan held his hands up in surrender. "I'm just glad that you two are working through whatever it is you want to call this whole situation."

Both Brooke and Lucas were silent after that, only nodding softly. They still had a lot to talk about and for a few minutes they had been lucky enough to forget about that.

"Yo man!" they could hear someone calling from down the hall. "What is going on in he—" Lucas cut him off by slamming the door before he could come in and see what was going on.

"Thanks," Brooke said quietly. Lucas nodded; he didn't want the whole team asking about his personal life.

"So," the coach said after he finished up on his blackberry. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed as hell at you Scott," he said to Lucas. "But we can deal with that later. Right now you two have to get ready and meet me downstairs in 20 minutes and then we're all leaving for press stuff about the game tonight. We have the Today show first, and then Sports Center."

Lucas and Nathan nodded, Lucas silently thanking his lucky starts that he didn't get his ass kicked for having Brooke stay with him.

When their coach walked out the door, there were still three guys waiting outside to see what was going on. As soon as the coach opened the door, they got a nice good look at Brooke Davis in Lucas Scott's hotel room.

"Shit," Brooke muttered and then immediately reached for her blackberry and started dialing a number.

"I'm getting in the shower," Nathan mouthed to Lucas so that he and Brooke could talk a little more.

Nathan closed the bathroom door and left Brooke and Lucas alone.

"Richie?" Brooke asked into the phone. "Yeah it's me….Good, but I have a slight change of plans today…yeah, can you pick me up at the Hilton in 20?...thanks so much…see you soon…bye." Brooke said; when she finished she finally looked Lucas in the eye again.

"So," Lucas started.

"You should probably get start getting ready," Brooke suggested.

"I should, but I can't until Nathan gets out of the shower, so we have a few minutes to…." Lucas trailed off, realizing he must sound like a broken record at this point.

"Talk?" Brooke finished for him. "Yeah, I know."

"Brooke, I can't lose you again." Lucas started, probably getting a little too serious and emotional for that time of morning. "I want to be with you, spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be able to wake up every morning the way we did today."

"Minus the angry coach of course," Brooke tried to joke so that she could avoid what he was really saying. "I want that too, Lucas," Brooke said quietly and seriously. "But I don't know how it's supposed to work anymore."

"Broo—"

"No," Brooke cut him off, needing to say what was on her mind. "Forget the fact that you have to go back to North Carolina at the end of the week and my life is here. Forget the fact that you could get drafted to a team across the country. Putting all that aside…how are we supposed to be with each other again? Believe me Lucas, I want to be with you more than anything, but how are we supposed to get past these past few years?"

That was the one thing that Lucas was afraid of; that they wouldn't be able to get past everything that has happened between them.

After a few seconds of searching for the right words, Lucas finally spoke.

"We…we don't have to go back to the way it was. We shouldn't. We're not in high school anymore, we're adults as scary as that is to admit."

"So?"

"So I know the only way that I'm happy is when I'm with you. The only way to move on is to focus on the good things….like the way you light up a room when you walk into it, or the way I love to see your smile because no matter what's going on with me, seeing you happy makes me happy too, or even the way that I love to still have your scent on my pillows after you get up. I can go on about the little things that make me love you so much Brooke. Because as long as I still have those things, I know that I'll love you no matter what, and that's enough for me."

So what if it didn't really answer her question; it was one hell of a speech.

But it didn't change the fact that Brooke didn't know how to move on from what had happened.

When Brooke didn't respond to Lucas, he decided to continue. "And as for basketball…" he said, knowing that his next words were true even if no one would believe him. "I'd give it up to be with you, Brooke Davis. I would give it up today if you wanted me to."

"Lu—"

"I'm serious."

"Yeah? What would you do?"

"Be a writer."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Lucas insisted. "I know how crazy that is, but when I was still dealing with my HCM stuff, that's what I wanted to do. I even have one and a half books written already!"

Brooke looked at him skeptically.

"I do, but even if I didn't, that's not the point. The point is that you are the most important thing in the world to me, not basketball."

"Lucas," was all Brooke could say. What do you say to something like that?

"Sorry to interrupt," Nathan cut in from the bathroom door. He of course chooses that day to take a one minute shower and get ready in record time. "But you should really get in and hurry up, man."

Lucas nodded and then looked to Brooke to see if she would say something, but she didn't, so he left to the bathroom to shower and get changed.

"Everything alright?" Nathan asked Brooke after they heard the shower turn on.

"Yeah, I guess," Brooke said softly as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"You know how much he loves you, right?" Nathan asked as he looked for a tie.

"Yeah, I know."

"Well do you still love him as much as you did?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, if not more," Brooke admitted.

"Then you need to accept the fact that being together is the only way that you two will be happy," Nathan said pointedly.

"I already have, I'm just scared."

"I know you are," Nathan said, surprising Brooke a little with his unexpected wisdom. "And I know this is a hard thing to hear, let alone do, but you have to trust that he won't hurt you again. And before you cut me off, I know how many times he's hurt you already, but he's been miserable these past few years to say the least. He's not gonna make a mistake like that again."

Brooke stayed silent for a minute, contemplating if she could ever really trust Lucas and look at him the same way again.

"So what do I do?"

That seemed to be the million dollar question for Brooke at this point.

Nathan took a deep breath as he finished tying his tie.

"You should….god, I must sound like such a girl right now."

"You sound sensitive and wise, I'm sure Haley loves that about you," Brooke said laughing a little that he was embarrassed to be having this type of talk. "Plus, I think it's amazing that you've become the kind of person that can say this stuff. The Nathan Scott I used to know would have to be drunk off his ass to even think about stuff like this."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Nathan agreed laughing a little. "But so would the Brooke Davis I used to know."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Brooke said. They stayed silent for a minute, realizing how much Haley and Lucas had changed them for the better. If it weren't for them, they would still be on the same self destructive path they were on years ago.

"So," Nathan said after a minute of silence. "About what you should do.."

"I'm listening."

"You should talk to Rachel and Haley about this more, but I think that you should just get to know him again. Do you know what I mean?"

"Not really."

"Just talk to him about what he's been doing at Duke for the past three years, or about what you've accomplished. Talk to him about what he wants next and stuff like that, because once you can figure out who you guys are again, then you can _really_ move on."

"Yeah, you definitely sound like a girl," Brooke said, breaking all of the seriousness that filled the room.

Nathan looked her in disbelief that she could say something like that now.

Then they just started laughing.

"But," Brooke finally said as she calmed down. "You're absolutely right."

"I know," Nathan said with a proud grin.

Nathan slipped on his shoes and then turned back to Brooke who was sitting on the bed.

"I have to go round up the guys," Nathan said. "If Lucas isn't ready to go in 5 minutes kick his ass for me, will ya?"

"My pleasure," Brooke smiled.

Nathan went over and gave Brooke a friendly hug. "It was good to see you, Davis. I'll see you tonight?" he asked hopefully.

"I'll be there."

"Good," Nathan smiled as he left the room.

* * *

After Nathan left, Brooke busied herself with checking her emails while she waited for Lucas. Rachel had left her a few emails and voicemails asking where she was and if she was okay. And in true Rachel fashion, in each one, she asked if Brooke was already busy having sex with Lucas. 

In a few short minutes Lucas emerged from the bathroom ready to go.

Brooke looked over at him and furrowed her brow.

"What?" Lucas asked looking down at his outfit. "Do I have a stain or something?"

"No, I just don't understand how guys can get ready that quickly."

Lucas couldn't help but laugh. He was more than relieved that Brooke was still comfortable enough around him to joke around.

"It's one of my _many _hidden talents," Lucas ginned slyly causing Brooke to cock and eyebrow.

"So are you ready to go?" she asked while grabbing her stuff.

"Yeah. Where are you going?" Lucas asked as he got his stuff together too.

"I'm going straight to the office, I have a change of clothes there so I can go in and just get right to work," Brooke said, silently savoring the fact that they were able to have a normal conversation. Lucas was thinking the same thing, but he was much more nervous about it; he was so nervous that to stop his hands from shaking, so he stuffed them deep inside his pockets.

When Brooke and Lucas got downstairs they were met with the curious eyes of many of Lucas and Nathan's teammates.

"Why are they so interested?" Brooke asked him quietly as they walked through the lobby.

"They've never seen me with a girl before," Lucas answered, not realizing how much he shocked Brooke with his answer.

"Ah, Miss Davis," Coach K said as they approached him and a few other teammates. "Will you be joining us?" He asked kindly but sarcastically.

"No, not today," She answered politely. "I have a car waiting for me outside and I think Rachel will have a conniption if I stay out of contact much longer."

Lucas and Nathan laughed knowingly.

"Whoaaa!" Marcus cut in. "Is this hot Rachel that stopped us in the park yesterday?"

"Yeah," Brooke, Lucas, and Nathan replied.

"Right, so my car's waiting outside," Brooke said to Lucas.

"Oh."

"Yeah, um, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Brooke suggested, not really sure how to say goodbye.

"Yeah," Lucas said with a half smile, thankful that they would have another chance to work through things later. All he knew was that now they were making progress; Brooke told him that she wants to be with him. Now all they have to do is make it happen.

Unsure of her next moves, Brooke slowly moved toward Lucas and place a lingering kiss on his cheek.

"I'll see you later, Luke," She whispered before turning and leaving.

"So _that's_ the girl?" Marcus asked after Brooke left the lobby and they saw her get into her awaiting car. Everyone was shocked to see that _the _Brooke Davis was the girl that Lucas has been pining over for years. They were also shocked to see the look in both of their eyes when they were together.

"That's the girl," Lucas replied with a smile.

* * *

"Well, well," Rachel from her spot in Brooke's office doorway as Brooke walked out of the elevator. "It's about time you showed up. I wanted details. Now."

"Any chance I can get some work done first?" Brooke asked.

"No."

"Please, Rach," Brooke pleaded as they walked into her office.

"Why don't you want to tell me?"

"Because it's private." Brooke said seriously. "They stuff we said….it….it was just private, okay?"

"Did you sleep with him?"

"No!"

"Okay, okay, I was just checking," Rachel said, surprised that Brooke wasn't going to give up any details. Brooke and Rachel talked about everything, so if Brooke wasn't talking now, Rachel knew that it was really important to her.

"Just tell me one thing," Rachel said.

"What?"

"Are you guys making progress? Are you getting back on track or whatever?"

"Yeah," Brooke replied softly. "We're getting there."

"Good." Rachel said, satisfied with the answer. "Now get to work!"

Brooke just rolled her eyes and logged into her computer. After her night with Lucas, she was finally able to concentrate on her work.

* * *

"You're happy," Nathan told Lucas with a smirk as they were being prepped to go on the talk show.

"Yeah, yeah I am," Lucas laughed. He had a goofy smile plastered on his face since Brooke had left. "We've got a ways to go…but I think it's going to be okay."

"I hope so man, I can't take anymore drama with you two!" Nathan said seriously.

"Shut up man," Lucas laughed, hitting Nathan on the arm.

"You boys ready?" Coach K asked coming up to them and putting a fatherly hand on both their shoulders.

"Why not?" they shrugged and walked out.

As captains of the team, they were often required to be at press events to speak about the team. As two of the best players and most famous duo in the entire league, they were_always _asked to come and make an appearance. They had endorsements with Nike and other big sports companies, and were expected to be drafted to the NBA in the first round at the end of June.

They were now at the Sports Center studio in Manhattan. The first appearance of the day went smoothly, but uneventful. It was one of the more serious shows so Lucas, Nathan, and the rest of the team were quiet most of the time while their coach did the talking. Now Nathan and Lucas, along with Coach K, were walking out to a more fun interview with famous sports casters.

"Welcome guys," they were greeted as they took their seats.

They talked for a few minutes about the upcoming game and the previous one. It was mostly Coach K's area, but Lucas and Nathan put their two cents in when necessary.

"Okay," one of the sports casters said. "Now because everyone wants to get to know the Scott boys a little better, we wanted to ask you some questions."

"Okay," Lucas and Nathan replied, a little nervous. They were often asked questions about their personal lives and their family. Most of the time they kept it vague; leaving out the details of Dan's mental abuse, Deb's on again off again pill addiction, and Keith's death.

"So as we understand you are the same age, but you're not twins, is that right?"

"Yeah," Nathan said. "Same dad, different moms."

"Have you always been so close?"

"No!" They both answered.

"Basically," Lucas started. "We hated each other until we were 17."

"We never even spoke to each other until Whitey asked Lucas to join the team." Nathan added laughing a little. They were able to laugh about it now, but they knew how serious their familial situation was.

"Sure," Lucas added nonchalantly. "If you call speaking threatening to make my life hell if I join the team."

"Yeah, sorry about that man," Nathan said, patting his big brother on the back.

"Oh it's not a problem. I mean it was until I whipped you in that glorious one on one game."

"Oh give me a break!" Nathan fought back playfully. There was something about that day; the fact that they were going to the semi finals and the fact that Lucas was no longer edging on depression that made them able to speak more freely and happily. "It was one game. You won by one point. And I beat you in every other one on one game we after that."

"Are they always like this?" one of the men asked Coach K, who just nodded, laughing a little. Nathan and Lucas where always going at it about petty brother things, but really their playful banter made everyone else more comfortable.

"Hello? Heart condition!" Lucas defended himself.

"What are you two talking about?" one of the sports casters finally cut in. "What heart condition?"

"Right," Lucas said, realizing they just mentioned a bunch of things that nobody understood. "So I got a genetic heart condition from our father called HCM, and the meds you have to take not only prevent you from having a heart attack, but they also slow you down."

"Yeah, and after he hid it for _months_," Nathan said. "We all finally found out about it and he had to quit the team."

"Until I walk into Whitey's office one day and see Nate, my mom, Dan, and Coach K waiting for me, telling me that they had a plan to let me play again. One state championship win and a heart surgery later, I'm here!" Lucas said, giving an extremely short version of the complicated story.

"Wow," one of the men said. Coach K just watched on smiling as he saw his two best players enjoying themselves and giving the men a story that no one else had.

"And the one on one game you mentioned?"

Nathan rolled his eyes and Lucas just smiled.

"Well, Nathan didn't want me on the team, so he challenged me. One on one at the Rivercourt at midnight."

"What was the bet?"

"If I win, Lucas quits the team."

"If I win, Nathan stays on the team."

"Stays?"

"That part's a little more complicated and personal," Nathan explained and everyone nodded.

"And Lucas you won?"

"Yeah I did!" Lucas said animatedly. "Sick fade away shot to end the game." he smiled at the memory.

"And then?"

"The rest is history," Nathan said shrugging. "We basically fought until we get kicked off the court, kicked off the bus, almost kicked off the team. Around playoffs we had to suck it up and become "friends"" he said putting air quotes around friends.

"Riiiight. "Friends"" Lucas imitated Nathan. "Really it was just that we had to accept the fact that we were brothers. We found common ground; you know, things that would bring us together. And like Nathan said, the rest is history."

"And the game tonight?"

Nathan looked at Lucas and smirked. "Let's just say out heads are finally in the right places. It should be a good game."

"Definitely."

* * *

"Brooke!" Rachel called from the kitchen. It was now 7:15 and Brooke was getting ready to go see Lucas' game.

"Yeah?" Brooke came out of the bedroom in jeans and a simple yet elegant top.

"Well don't you look hot tonight."

"Why thank you," Brooke said in her usual cheery voice.

"Wow."

"Wow what?" Brooke asked.

"I haven't seen you this…happy in a while."

"Yeah," Brooke said looking down. "I know."

"I'm happy for you, Brookie!" Rachel said smiling a little.

"Thanks."

"So what are you going to say to Lucas tonight?"

"It's weird," Brooke said as she made sure she had everything she needed. "We got everything out in the open and now it's like there's not much to say anymore."

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Yeah, well now we just have to move on." Brooke said. "Easier said than done, though."

"Oh yeah," Rachel said, handing Brooke her purse as they walked out the door.

"So what are your plans tonight?" Brooke asked as they rode the elevator down.

"David's coming over."

Brooke smiled.

"What?"

"I'm proud of you, Rach."

"Why?"

"Cause you have a real relationship. It's good for you."

"Oh god, don't get a mushy on me now."

Brooke just rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Right, so you mean the constant crying and Lucas drama wasn't mushy?"

"Oh no, not at all," Rachel said sarcastically. "It just didn't have to do with me so I was okay with it."

"Yeah, whatever," Brooke said as they got in the car waiting for them to take Brooke to the game.

* * *

"Damn, Luke," Nathan said as they stood on the court, waiting for the official's time out (commercial break) to end.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"I haven't seen you play like this in a _long time." _ Nathan said. Lucas was on fire that night.

"Yeah, well I haven't been this happy in a long time," Lucas pointed out. "I mean, I just look at her smiling at me and I can't help—"

"Yeah, yeah I get it! Cut the chick flick crap, we're in the middle of a game."

"No," Lucas pointed out. "We're up by 8 with 22 seconds to go, I'm pretty sure this qualifies as the end of the game."

"Whatever," Nathan rolled his eyes as the buzzer went off and they got ready to play again.

* * *

It was just like the game a few nights ago. The buzzer went of, indicating that the game was over and the Blue Devils had won, and pure happiness washed over Lucas and Nathan for their achievement; they were going to the National Championship game in just a few short days.

Just the like the game a few nights ago Lucas could see Brooke in her front row seat smiling at him.

Once again, his teammates jumped around him and pulled him into the mosh pit for congratulations.

But this time, when Lucas emerged again, he could still see Brooke smiling at him

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Sorry if the end seems rushed, but I was getting tired and I wanted to post this tonight. **

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Next chapter will hopefully be posted by late tomorrow night  
**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's chapter 9!**

**I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update. This week has been hell for me because of exams. the good news is that i am officially on winter break, which means that i dont start school again until january 8th, which means that i have PLENTY of time to get a lot of chapters in.**

**So, again, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! i love every single review**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

Lucas stood, leaning against the railing, with a bottle of water in his hands. He couldn't keep his mind away from Brooke Davis. The night before, she had come to greet him after his game, but they barely got to talk because of his post game responsibilities. She told him that she understood and that she would see him tomorrow. Tomorrow? he asked. She nodded, smiling and then walked away. That was it. That was all they got to say. Later that night, when Lucas got back to his hotel room, there was a message from Brooke saying to meet him at the skating rink in Bryant Park the next day at 12:30.

He had been waiting for about ten minutes, but he didn't mind considering he was 15 minutes early to begin with. He was so anxious to see her that as soon as morning practice was over he changed and jumped in a cab to go meet her.

"Hey," Lucas could hear the soft unmistakable voice behind him.

He turned around and smiled brightly at the woman before him

"Hey," he said.

"So how long do you have?" Brooke asked as she leaned against the railing next to him. They didn't hug or kiss; it was too early for that. At the moment, things were a bit awkward, actually.

"Afternoon practice starts in two hours, you?" Lucas asked. It was Wednesday, and the Championship game was on Friday night. Today he had a long lunch break, but tomorrow, he wouldn't have any free time, so he jumped at the opportunity to see Brooke.

"I have to be back by 2 according to Rachel's orders," Brooke said, rolling her eyes.

"Isn't it _your_ company?"

"Yeah," Brooke sighed. "But Rachel might as well own it with me. I may do the designs, but I wouldn't be anywhere without her."

Lucas nodded. Despite the bitchiness and constant partying, Rachel was actually very smart.

"So why are we here?" Lucas asked after a minute of silence.

"I figured we could just hang out a little."

"I got that, but why _here_?" Lucas asked. Now that it was the end of March, it was too warm to skate, so instead of watching people skate together, they were watching a crew take down the ice skating rink.

"I come here a few times every winter," Brooke said as she continued to stare ahead. "I love it because as surprising as it is, it reminds me of home."

"Really?" Lucas asked, looking over at Brooke.

Brooke nodded. "There's the Christmas tree, and the little shops that surround the rink, and all the families that I see when I'm here."

"Why didn't you ever visit Tree Hill?" Lucas asked suddenly, almost cutting her off. The question seemed out of the blue, but they both knew that it had been coming for a while.

"At first it was because I didn't want to see you," Brooke said. "But then I missed everyone so much, it was just easier _not_ to come back."

"I don't understand," Lucas said.

"You wouldn't because you never really had to leave," Brooke said. "I left so many things behind; so many things and people that I care about more than I ever knew. As much as I love being in New York, Tree Hill will always be my home….But," She started again, "at one point I realized that if I ever went back there, coming back here would never be the same. So I stayed away."

"My mom really misses you," Lucas said, not meaning to guilt trip her.

"I miss her too." Brooke said, looking down, ashamed because she never kept in touch. "Around the holidays I would imagine what it would have been like to go home with you during Christmas break. You know, back from college to see everyone and spend that really cheesy holiday time together."

This time is was Lucas' turn to look down in guilt.

"You know you can still do that, right?" Lucas asked. "Any time you want to go back, you can and Tree Hill will welcome you with open arms."

Brooke smiled softly.

"I wish you would have come back," Lucas said quietly. "God I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Luke," Brooke said so low it was almost inaudible.

Lucas heard her. He turned to face Brooke and look at her; see if there was any evidence of something hidden after she said those words. They were the truth, but Lucas was just shocked that she had said that to him at this point.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Brooke asked after a few seconds of Lucas staring at her.

"Like I said, I missed you," Lucas said, his eyes still not leaving her. "I missed seeing you and talking to you and just being able to hold you in my arms," Lucas admitted.

Brooke turned to look at him; to see if she could read him. All she found in his eyes was honesty, guilt, and love.

It surprised them both when Brooke carefully stood straight and took the two tiny steps closer to Lucas. They were so close at this point that Lucas knew what she was doing, so when Brooke wrapped her arms around Lucas' waist, he did the same to her waist and brought her as close as possible, relishing in the feeling of having her tightly in his arms again.

After a few seconds together that felt all to short, they slowly and reluctant loosened their grip on each other. They backed away just enough to be able to look at each other, but not so far that they would have to lose contact.

"Brooke," Lucas whispered softly.

"Just don't talk right now, okay?"

Lucas nodded and Brooke nervously leaned up and brushed his lips with hers. As soon as Lucas realized what was happening, he immediately responded by pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.

When air became a necessity, they reluctantly pulled apart, keeping their foreheads pressed together and their hot breath hitting each other's faces.

After a few seconds that they regained their composure in, Brooke leaned back in to continue the kiss; Lucas gladly accepted, not feeling that good in years.

But then Brooke's phone rang and they broke away suddenly, leaving both craving for more.

Without saying anything to Lucas, Brooke took out her phone and answered it.

"Hello?...I thought I asked you not to bother me now….what do you mean?...yeah, I understand…okay…I'll be right over…bye."

Brooke hung up and looked back at Lucas who looked like someone had just taken his puppy.

"I'm sorry," she said before Lucas could say anything. "It's a work and its an emergency."

Lucas looked like he was about to say something, so Brooke cut him off again.

"Don't say anything…please." Brooke pleaded with him. "It'll ruin it. I'll—I'll see you on Friday night."

Lucas nodded, obeying her request.

Brooke nodded too, as if she had to convince herself not to say anything else. She was about to leave when she hesitated, turned back to Lucas, and placed a soft and quick kiss on his lips before breaking away and running to the curb to hail a cab.

In a matter of seconds, she was gone, and a stunned Lucas stood still watching her cab drive off in the distance.

He put his fingers to his lips where he could still feel Brooke, and then he smiled. The smile never left his face as he headed back to the hotel to get some work done before his afternoon practice. "_I'll see you on Friday night,"_ and the kiss replaying in his head the whole time.

* * *

Lucas paced nervously around the locker room during his lunch break on Thursday afternoon as he listened to each taunting ring play through his cell phone and into his ear. _"Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up,"_ he was muttering to himself.

"Hello?" Brooke's slightly out of breath voice came onto the line.

"Hey!" he said a little over eagerly; the anticipation had gotten to him. "It's me…Lucas."

She laughed a little. "I wasn't expecting you to call, but I can still recognize your voice anywhere."

Lucas smiled at her comment.

"I know you said not to say anything and that you'd see me tomorrow night and all, but I have a question."

"Yo, what's got Scott lookin' like his gonna have heart attack?" one of Lucas' teammates came barging into the locker room with Nathan.

Brooke could hear the comment through the phone and laughed a little thinking of Lucas' nervous expression. What she didn't see was the ice cold glares that Lucas was shooting his team mate whom Nathan quickly dragged out of the room before Lucas could do something stupid.

"Lucas, you still there?" Brooke asked

"Yeah, sorry," he said, not realizing how long he had been silent for.

"So what did you want to ask me?" She asked curiously and a little flirtatiously.

"Right, well uh," Lucas began to stutter a little from nervousness. "You see there's this dinner tonight that the school and the alumni association are throwing, it's kinda like a pre-championship party dinner thing, and we're all allowed to bring guests if we want and some of the guys have girlfriends coming up or the cheerleaders are coming and of course Nathan has Haley, but I was wondering if you would come with me?" Lucas asked, not realizing how boyish and nervous he sounded. "If you're busy or you just don't want to come or something, it's fine, I totally understand, I was just ho—"

"Lucas!" Brooke yelled into the phone.

"Yeah?" he asked shyly.

"You're rambling," She laughed a little. "I thought that was supposed to be my thing."

"Sorry."

"Don't be, it's cute," Brooke said, still laughing a little. As much as they had grown, Lucas was still the shy little virgin on the basketball team that Brooke wanted to corrupt. Even though she couldn't see it, she knew that Lucas was blushing on the other end.

"Uh, so," Lucas said not knowing how to respond. "Do you think you can come? If yo—"

"Okay, you can stop rambling now," Brooke said, chuckling a little. "I'd love to come."

Lucas let out a huge sigh of relief. "Really?"

"No," Brooke deadpanned. "Of course I would, why would I lie about something like that?"

"I don't know, I guess I was just relieved or something."

"What were you nervous?" Brooke asked, playing with him.

"Well, yeah!"

Brooke couldn't help but laugh.

"You said Haley's coming, right?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well I'm picking her up from the airport in a few hours, so we'll get ready together and meet you two at the place. I'm assuming Haley has the information?"

"Yeah."

"Good, then I'll see you tonight, Broody," Brooke said cheerfully, not realizing the nickname she used until it was too late.

"Yeah," Lucas said smiling brightly. "I'll see you tonight."

And with that they hung up the phone.

Brooke stared at the phone in her hands in a sort of amazement. She was still so unsure about everything with Lucas, but just now she had felt so comfortable and happy. It was like Lucas' innocence and nervousness that she loved in high school made her feel comfortable with him again. It made her feel like she was still in Tree Hill playing dirty mind games with him.

Brooke laughed again at the memories of her banter with Lucas from long ago. It wasn't until she actually realized that she would be seeing him that night did she stop laughing. At the sudden realization, she drove herself right back into her work.

* * *

"Hey," Brooke said as she emerged from her home office after about a ten minute phone call.

"Hey," Haley said, looking up from her magazine.

Brooke had picked her up from the airport about an hour and a half ago. They had done their hair and make up, and now they had a little time before they had to get dressed before they left to meet Lucas and Nathan.

"So about tomorrow night?" Haley asked. Haley was staying with Brooke for the short trip to New York and they had planned to go to the game together the next night.

"What about it?"

"I have to pick up Karen, Deb, and Dan before the game."

"They're coming up?" Brooke asked excitedly; she had always considered Karen to be a mother to her. Then the guilt came; the guilt from barely talking to her over the past few years. Sure they had spoken a lot a few years ago, but calls were now few and far between.

"Yeah, they wouldn't miss this game for anything," Haley said with a proud smile.

"And Dan?" Brooke asked skeptically.

"It took me three hours to convince them to let Dan be there, but in the end they agreed to let him be there as long as he didn't…be himself," Haley said.

From what Haley had told Brooke over the years, Nathan and Lucas distanced themselves from Dan once they got to college. They didn't want Dan to control their college basketball careers like he had done in high school. They didn't want Dan to have anything to do with their success now that they were on their own, so it took three hours of Haley's convincing to agree to let him be at the game, only because biologically, he was their father.

"So, I was thinking," Brooke said, snapping out of her thoughts. "Just now actually, but that's beside the point."

"Anyway," Haley ushered her to continue before she started rambling.

"I was thinking, since I have access to a few more tickets where I'm sitting, I could get them for everyone so we could sit together," Brooke suggested meekly.

"Actually," Haley said, acknowledging her hesitation. "Thanks an amazing idea, thank you, Brooke."

Brooke smiled softly.

"So enough about tomorrow night, let's talk about _tonight_," Haley said.

Brooke chuckled at Haley's not so subtle push to make Brooke talk about why she had agreed to see Lucas earlier than she had planned.

Brooke shrugged in a feeble attempt to brush Haley off.

"Noooo way," Haley said shaking her head at Brooke. "The last time we talked you were adamant about not seeing him again until the game, and now this? What happened?"

"Well two things happened," Brooke began as they sat down in her living room. "The second was my talking to Lucas, which was actually really nice," Brooke said smiling brightly. "The first was my dad."

"Your dad?"

Brooke nodded. "I was on the phone with him this morning and he said some…things that kinda got to me."

"Like what?"

"First he told me that I was being stubborn for not continuing to hold myself off from him. I told him I was protecting my heart. He said I was being stupid because being with Lucas is the only way that I'm going to be happy."

"He's right," Haley said, earning her a death glare from Brooke.

"The second thing he said," Brooke said, "was that I would be in the same situation whether or not Lucas had left me three years ago."

"What do you mean?"

"That's what I said, but then he explained it," Brooke said as she ran a hand through her hair. "The thing is that Lucas and I, whether we admitted it or not, we both knew that I was going to end up here in New York, and that he could theoretically be drafted to a team across the country."

Haley nodded in understanding; she was also worried that Nathan would end up on a team far away from Tree Hill and their family.

"We always knew that there would be this possibility that our careers would tear us away from each other and we would have to work through that. So what my dad asked was what makes that different from right now."

"What does make it different?"

"Nothing, really," Brooke admitted. "I mean the trust thing is…being worked on," Brooke chose her words carefully. "But the whole thing about being separated was inevitable; it's one of the biggest things that's holding me back from a new relationship with Lucas, but this wasn't caused by Lucas, and I think that after my dad made me realize that, it was easy to talk to him today."

"Wow," Haley said.

"Why wow?"

"Because you're being incredibly mature about this."

"As opposed to…?"

"As opposed to the way you could be reacting to this whole thing," Haley said calmly, trying not to upset Brooke. "I was thinking something along the lines of a plane ticket and a deserted Caribbean island."

"Ouch," Brooke said feigning offense. "True," she finally conceded.

"Well you're not running, in fact, you're going to see him tonight," she said as she stood up. "So let's go! Come on! Get ready!"

* * *

As Brooke and Haley pulled up in the car that drove them to the restaurant, they could see Lucas and Nathan standing outside under the awning waiting for them. They both looked suave and handsome, but the difference was that Nathan was incredibly calm while Lucas looked like he was going to have an anxiety attack.

As Brooke and Haley stepped out of the car, Brooke and Lucas were vaguely aware of Haley and Nathan greeting each other. They were too caught up in seeing each other again to notice.

From far away Lucas looked calm and collected, but he wasn't. Not at all. His hands were shaking in his pockets and his heart was pounding so hard, Lucas thought it was going to beat out of his chest. He had a small soft smile on his face. He probably would've had a giant smile stretching from ear to ear, but he was too focused on Brooke to acknowledge that. He was too captured by seeing Brooke again; seeing how beautiful she looked. He noticed the way the slight curls in her hail cascaded down over her shoulders, the way that her eyes sparkled, and every other detail that made her look flawless.

Brooke looked at Lucas carefully; not at what he was wearing or how good he looked, but really took in everything about him. She could tell that he was nervous by his shaky breaths. Now that she was closer to him, she could smell his cologne; the same one she loved from high school. She could sense the awkwardness between them and she was sure that he could too.

But that didn't matter. There was something about Lucas that had always made everything better. It was the way that even the slightest of genuine smiles could bring comfort and reassurance during the toughest of times. How even the little half smile he had on his face at that moment, combined with the fact that he was looking at her with those piercing blue eyes, seemed to have an effect on Brooke like nothing else. They way he looked at her made it feel like he knew everything she was thinking and feeling. Didn't he? All Brooke really needed at that moment was for Lucas to wrap his strong arms around her and assure her that they would be okay no matter what happened.

But he didn't.

Instead he took the last two steps towards her and kissed her gently on the cheek. He placed a hand on the small of her back to lead her inside.

"You look beautiful tonight, Brooke," he said sweetly.

Brooke smiled; flattered by his comment. But then she realized that in a few short seconds she had assessed so much about them.

Lucas didn't hold her the way she wanted; the way she needed. Instead they tried to avoid the awkwardness as the four walked into the restaurant.

* * *

Brooke tried not to think much about her relationship with Lucas during the dinner. Instead she talked with everyone there; being a sort of celebrity, she attracted a bit of attention. She found special time to catch up with Haley, Nathan, and even Lucas. She even got to know some of Lucas' close friends on the team.

"Seriously Davis," Nathan said as they were getting ready to leave. "Why do you need a driver to take you everywhere? If I remember correctly you have a license."

Brooke laughed a little. "I know, and I do have a car of my own that, believe it or not, I actually drive in, but most of the time it's easier for Richie to take me wherever I need to be quickly. I can just jump out of the car and into whatever meeting or event I have, and then he picks me up when I'm done. I don't have to worry about parking or drinking too much."

Lucas and Haley laughed at Nathan who didn't have an answer to Brooke as they began to walk out of the restaurant. It was still early, but Lucas and Nathan had the biggest game of the lives the next day, so all they could do was walk the two girls outside to where Brooke's car was going to meet them.

Brooke checked her watch once they got outside.

"He should be here any minute," she said and they all nodded, then continued with the conversation they were engrossed in.

For a moment Brooke took herself out of the conversation and looked at Lucas intently.

What if he didn't really know her as well as she had hoped? In high school that was always one of her biggest fears; the guy she loved more than anything just didn't know her. She was lucky though, because he had proved her wrong. But that didn't change the fact that four years later she was standing there with the same fear. What if time had really done too much to them?

She desperately wanted Lucas to be the guy he was and always know exactly what she was thinking. But at the moment, he didn't seem to be that guy.

Maybe, she thought, maybe she had set him up for failure. Maybe she had expected so much from him that he would never be able to give her what she needed anymore.

But then he turned to her, and with that look of concern in his eyes he took a small step closer to her.

"You okay, pretty girl?" he asked.

Maybe he does still know her.

"Yeah," she said smiling as her car pulled up. "I'll see you tomorrow Luke," she said. She placed a small kiss on his cheek and then she and Haley got into the car.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Again, sorry that it took so long. In reviews please leave comments about what you want to happen with long distance thing in the future. **

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's chapter 11!**

**I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I had a slight case of writers block (I know, two of the most dreaded words in this site) coming into this chapter, but i've definitely gotten over it. so much so that i'll have ANOTHER chapter up in a few hours if all goes according to plan.**

**So, again, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! i love every single review**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

"Hey," Rachel said as she walked into Brooke's apartment to find Haley in the kitchen and Brooke nowhere in sight. "I came as soon as I got your message. What's going on?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Haley admitted. "She just said that she's trying to find something."

"Okayyy," Rachel said confused as she sat down at the kitchen table with Haley. "Before we go in and see her, can you tell me exactly what happened?"

"We got home, she seemed fine. Then when I woke up this morning I found her going through her closet frantically looking for something." Haley said. "I have no idea what happened between going to sleep and waking up, but whatever it is, it has her on a mission."

"Okay then, let's go see what's going on," Rachel said as she and Haley stood up and then made their way to Brooke's bedroom.

Rachel and Haley sat down on the edge of Brooke's bed and looked at Brooke who was sitting in the middle of her large walk-in closet, surrounded by boxes and photo albums.

"Brooke," Rachel said quietly.

"Hey!" Brooke said cheerily as she finally tore her eyes away from the contents spread around her.

"Hey," Rachel smiled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for something that is supposed to be in one of these boxes, but I haven't been able to find it yet."

Rachel looked closely at what Brooke had been looking through and was really surprised. Brooke was going through every old photo album and "Lucas Box" she had.

"Before we even get into what you are looking for," Haley stepped in. "Can you tell us why you are doing this? Can you tell us what happened to make you do this?"

_"Hello?" Brooke asked groggily into the phone. _

_"Brooke?" Lucas asked nervously. _

_"Hey," Brooke sat up in bed, a little more awake after hearing his voice. She glanced over at the clock and saw the number 2:14 staring back at her. "Lucas! It's two in the morning!" _

_"I know, I'm sorry for waking you," He said meekly. "I guess I shouldn't have called." _

_"No, it's okay," Brooke said softly. "What's going on?" _

_"I just—"Lucas started, clearly embarrassed. "I had this really messed up dream and then I couldn't fall back to sleep without calling and making sure you were okay." _

_Brooke smiled softly, no longer angry at the fact that it was 2:15 in the morning. _

_"You're okay, right?" Lucas asked.  
"I'm fine," Brooke said. "More than fine, I'm good," she said reassuringly. _

_Lucas let out a sigh of relief and then mentally cursed himself for letting a stupid dream get to him like that. _

_"So what was the dream about?" Brooke asked. _

_"Uhh," Lucas said, not really comfortable sharing. "It was about you." _

_"Me?" Brooke asked suggestively. _

_"Not like that," Lucas laughed. "I wish! But no, not like that." _

_"Then what was it like?" _

_"I uh," Lucas clammed up again. "It was more of a nightmare really," he said. _

_"Did I die?" Brooke asked playfully but still trying to keep her voice down because Haley was sleeping in the next room. _

_"No," Lucas said seriously. Although he had had nightmares where Brooke had died before, this one wasn't about that. "No, this one was me losing you again; me not being able to save you." _

_"Oh," Brooke said quietly. "Well you have me, and nothing's going to happen to me." _

_Lucas smiled softly. "Thanks." _

_It was silent for a moment before Lucas spoke again. _

_"Hey Brooke?" _

_"Yeah?" _

_"Why do you think it's so easy for us to talk on the phone like this, but once we see each other it's…" _

_"Different?" Brooke suggested. _

_"Yeah." _

_"I don't exactly know," Brooke admitted. "Maybe it's because when I see you, when I'm with you, this whole thing that we're mixed up becomes real. Whereas when we're on the phone, we can just pretend that all of our fears aren't there." _

_"You know I'm not going anywhere," Lucas said after a moment of silence. _

_"Yes you are."  
"No I'm not," Lucas insisted. "And I know that you're going to say that I'm going back to Duke tomorrow whether we win or lose, but with us, I'm not going anywhere," Lucas explained. "I'm always going to be here fighting for you—fighting for us." _

_"I know you are," Brooke said quietly. "I know you're there, but I can't do this yet. It's like I'm waiting for something to tell me that it's okay to move forward. And I know that you're here telling me that, and I know it's selfish to want to wait for something like that, but I need to." _

_"What are you looking for?" Lucas asked, although it hurt to hear, he understood what she was talking about. _

_"I know it sounds cheesy, but I guess I'm just looking for some sort of sign, you know?" Brooke said. "I'm looking for something to tell me that if we do…this…if we do us again, I need something to tell me that it's all going to be okay, and that I won't get hurt again." _

_Lucas was silent again, searching for something to say; something that would make everything better for them, but he couldn't find anything. He wasn't supposed to; this was something that Brooke had to find on her own. _

_"I'm sorry I hurt you, Brooke," he offered. _

_"Yeah, me too." _

_And then there was silence. _

_"Look," Brooke finally spoke again. "It's late…or early, whatever. You need to go back to sleep. You've got a big game today." _

_"Yeah, I guess I do," Lucas said laughing a little; he had the national championship game later that day, and yet it wasn't the first thing on his mind. _

_"And Lucas?" Brooke asked. _

_"Yeah?" _

_"I love you," she said so quietly it was almost inaudible. "I do, I'm just…scared." _

_"Yeah, me too." _

_"Of what?" _

_"Losing you." _

_Brooke was silent. She couldn't tell him that he wasn't going to lose her.  
"You're right, Brooke. We should get some sleep." He said to her silence. _

_"Night, Lucas," _

_"Goodnight, Brooke," He said warmly. "And I love you too," he said at the last second before they hung up." _

"So what exactly are you looking for?" Haley asked after Brooke explained what happened to them.

"Well this morning I woke up and after remembering everything that we said, it was like I knew exactly what I needed; I knew what I was looking for."

"Which is?" Rachel asked, getting slightly annoyed at Brooke avoidance.

"It's something that Lucas wrote a long time ago," Brooke said. "I know I kept it somewhere in all of this stuff but I can seem to…" Brooke trailed off. She was scanning her closet when something caught her eye. She pushed herself off of the ground and walked across to the other side of her closet. She stood up on her toes and used everything she had to grab the small box that seemed just out of her reach.

As soon as she got a hold of it she pulled it down and collapsed on the floor in a sigh.

"Finally," she whispered.

"What's in there?" Haley asked as she and Rachel moved forward to see what Brooke had been searching for.

"This," Brooke said as she handed them the deeply creased piece of paper. Neither Haley nor Brooke had ever seen it before because they weren't there that day, but after reading what it had said, they knew exactly why Brooke was looking for that particular piece of paper.

* * *

"Listen to me," Brooke said into her cell phone frustrated but soothingly. She was pacing up and down an aisle in the arena. She hadn't even made it to her seat yet. She was vaguely aware of the fact that people were staring at her, but she didn't really care at the moment. "Listen to me," she repeated as she glanced down at her watch. "It's getting really late on a Friday night. Go home, go out, go wherever, but don't worry about this. I'll take care of it tomorrow…yes, I'm sure….you don't have to apologize….no really, I need to get some stuff done tomorrow anyway….it's really not a big deal…have a good weekend…yeah….bye." Brooke hung up the phone with a sigh. She was being sincere, she really didn't mind going in to find the sketches herself the next day, but that didn't stop it from being stressful.

Brooke jumped and felt her heart rate skyrocket when someone unexpectedly tapped her on the shoulder.

"A little jumpy are we?" the woman asked as Brooke turned around to face her.

"Karen," she breathed out, taking the other woman into her arms for a long overdue hug. "It's so good to see you."

"You too, sweetie," Karen said after they Brooke apart. "Are you alright?" she asked, referring to the phone call.

"Oh yeah," Brooke said shrugging it off. "Just work stuff."

Karen nodded; Brooke showed no signs that she was hiding anything. And she wasn't; Brooke could never lie to Karen. There was something about her that made everyone feel comfortable and accepted. Brooke had always thought the inability to lie to Karen was part of what made Lucas such a good kid growing up.

"So how are you?" Brooke asked as they made their way over to the seats where Haley, Deb, and Dan were all already seated.

"I'm good, but you know Tree Hill's not the same without that spunky cheerleader."

Brooke blushed a little, "Thanks," she said quietly.

"And what about you? How's my favorite designer doing?" Karen asked, never failing to flatter Brooke in the way a real parent would.

"I'm doing well," Brooke said smiling proudly. "Clothes over Bros is….indescribable."

"I'm proud of you, Brooke, but that wasn't what I was asking," Karen said as they approached their seats.

Brooke briefly greeted everyone else before settling back down into her conversation with Karen.

"I was asking about _you_. How are _you_ doing?" Karen asked again.

"I'm…good." Brooke said finding a way to describe everything difficult.

"Really?" Karen said skeptically.

"Yeah…kinda….I'm a little freaked out to be completely honest," Brooke confessed but was then interrupted when the buzzer rang.

* * *

"This is pretty surreal, huh?" Lucas said to Nathan as they and the team walked out of the tunnel from the locker room and out onto the court.

"Oh yeah, just a little," Nathan said sarcastically.

Lucas laughed a little knowing that Nathan only turned to sarcasm when he was really mad or nervous.

"You ever think we'd get here?" Lucas asked.

"Dude, I've been saying I was going to play in this game since I was six."

Lucas laughed a little knowing that it was probably true. Lucas on the other hand never really had high expectations for basketball and that's why this was so incredible. At first it was just a hobby, then after he joined the team it became something more. It also became the thing that could get him a scholarship. Then his heart condition came and he basically gave up on basketball. But then he got a second chance, and now he's here, living out the second chance.

"Well would you look at that," Nathan said as they made their way onto the court.

"Yeah, I know," Lucas said as they grabbed a couple basketballs to warm up with. Lucas was looking around at the packed arena, still not able to completely grasp the fact that he was actually playing in the National Championship Game. He figured it was for the better though, because if he did acknowledge the significance of everything, he'd be even more nervous than he already was, if that was even possible.

"I wasn't talking about the game," Nathan said, snapping Lucas out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" Lucas said. "What are you talking about."

"Front row, 3 o'clock," Nathan said. "One big f-ed up family," he laughed a little.

Lucas looked around and spotted what Nathan was talking about. Sitting together was Brooke, Haley, Karen, Deb, and Dan.

Lucas couldn't help but laugh a little as he and Nathan began to warm up.

* * *

"So you never answered my question," Karen said to Brooke.

After the buzzer rang, they got caught up in watching Nathan and Lucas come out onto the court that they forgot about their conversation.

"Right," Brooke said. "I guess I'm still in a little shock."

"Over what?" Karen asked.

Brooke thought for a minute on how to phrase what she wanted to say.

"It's all a little much for right now. I mean, after _years_ he just popped back into my life. It was a huge step to begin with. So then we took smaller steps, you know, talking to each other and everything," she said and then trailed off for a moment. "But the reason why I'm…nervous, is because I'm about to take another huge step tonight, and I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that I'm ready for it."

Karen looked over a Brooke and smiled softly. She had missed Brooke so much over the past few years.

"You're an amazingly strong person, Brooke," Karen reassured her. "I'm sure that you're making the right decision, whatever it is."

"Thanks," Brooke whispered.

* * *

The buzzer rang again.

"Two minutes," Nathan said in a sing song voice.

"Right, cause that's helping to calm my nerves," Lucas said shaking his head.

"I'm just stating the obvious….but it's not really helping mine either," Nathan conceded.

"We can do this, right?" Nathan asked, not that he was going to get 'no' for an answer.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah," he said confidently but quietly. "We can."

There were multiple things going on in both of their heads trying to calm them down. One was the presence of Brooke and Haley and their moms. Dan's presence didn't really help them much. They tried to think of the game as just another one in the old ratty gym in Tree Hill, but that didn't work once they looked up from the huddle.

There was one thing that calmed them though. It was acknowledging where they were and what they were doing. This was the NCAA championship game, and they had worked their asses off to be their. They had the ability to win; in fact, they deserved to win. They were also the captains; they owed it to their team to lead them in confidence and assurance. They needed to be the strong ones tonight if they wanted to pull through with a win like this.

They listened carefully to the Coaches words and then said a few of their own, and before they knew it, another short buzzer rang and they stripped off their warm up gear and walked out onto the court.

"Remember," Nathan said as they walked to their positions. "None of this matters if you can't hit the shot."

Lucas nodded. "Let's do this," he said as they pounded fists.

* * *

The game went as everyone expected. It was tough and close. They were both phenomenal teams playing their hearts out for a title they equally deserved; it was just a question of who wanted it more, who was going to fight for it more.

The game was a see-saw the whole time; one team was up by two for a few seconds, then it was tied, then the other team would go up by a few, and then back again.

Everyone was on edge watching the players on the court.

Lucas and Nathan were more than grateful to be having the game of their lives. When they were on the court together, they played with such talent and grace that it seemed impossible that they were merely 22 years old. Not only did their talent astound everyone, but the fact that they were actually having fun playing was amazing. They had smiles on their faces even though their hands were shaking. They were playing the game like they were supposed to be playing; like they were in college playing their last game before they had to worry about drafts and agents and sponsors.

They heard the whistle blow and watched the point guard from the opposing team make two foul shots. They heard the whistle blow again indicating an officials time out. They quickly made their way over to the bench as they stole one more glance at the score board.

They were down 73-71 with 16.2 seconds left in the game.

Nathan and Lucas looked at each other.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Lucas asked.

Nathan smiled slyly. "Yeah, definitely."

When they got into the huddle, they still had the smirks present on their face.

"Coach," Lucas said confidently.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"You remember that play we were showing you the other night?" Nathan asked. Coach K nodded. "I think we should use it."

Coach K knew exactly what they were talking about it, and he knew that it could probably work, but he hesitated in answering, not exactly sure whether or not he wanted to put the game in the hands of two of his players. Granted they were two of the best players he had every seen in every aspect on and off the court, but he wasn't sure if he should put this responsibility in their hands.

"This is it. We need this right now," Nathan said quietly urging their Coach to let them run the play.

"Alright," he said after another moment.

Nathan and Lucas breathed a sigh of relief, then Nathan grabbed a small clipboard and handed it to Lucas.

"Okay guys come 'ere," he said motioning everyone closer as he began to write on the small whiteboard. "Here's what you do," He said as he finished writing. "Brett you're gonna pass it in to Adam from the side, then head down court. Adam you're gonna take the ball up. Nathan will be waiting at the top of the key for it. After you pass it to him, go down and screen for Brett who will be down in the right corner. Marcus, you'll be on the left wing. When Nathan gets the ball up top I want you to come down and screen for me in the left corner. I need that screen to be really tight, okay? …and after that…well Nate you know what to do."

Nathan and Lucas looked at each other and nodded as everyone else processed the information.

"You all got that?" Coach K asked and the team nodded. "Alright boys, this is it. Go out there and get you're title."

They nodded and put their hands in. "Duke," They all chanted at the same time before making their way onto the court.

"Here we go," Lucas and Nathan said as they made their way to their positions.

When Lucas got to his position on the court, through the madness that was going on in the arena, he couldn't help but notice that Brooke was only a few feet away smiling at him. He let a small grin play across his lips as he nodded slightly towards her.

Before he knew it, the buzzer rang, then the whistle sounded, and Adam was making his way down the court as fast as he could against the press.

And then it was really set into motion. Nathan caught the ball up top, and turned towards the basket as he started dribbling. Everyone was focused on Nathan and the assumption that he was going to go in for the lay in to tie the game. But they didn't want the tie; they wanted the win.

Then Marcus came down for the screen that no one was paying attention to because all eyes were on Nathan as the seconds ticked down. Lucas waited until the perfect moment before using the screen and heading up just past the three point line farther up on the court.

In less than half the second, Nathan was in the air with the ball, and then without it. He turned at the last moment with two guys on him and passed the ball out to a waiting and open Lucas. In an instant he set his feet on the floor and his grip on the ball, bent his knees and then let instinct take over.

As the ball traveled through the air, Lucas' heart, along with half the people in the arena, seemed to stop. Time seemed to stop; everything slowed down; the sounds dulled and everything but the ball and the hoop became a blur.

And then the flash came. The flash where as Lucas' feet hit the ground and for a split second he could see the ball hitting the rim and bouncing to the other side, taking all of his and his teammates hopes and accomplishments with it.

But then it happened. The ball came into view again and flew perfectly threw the net. It hit the ground with an impossibly loud thud, and then through the silence, the final buzzer rang through.

That was it. Lucas fell to his knees as the arena burst into cheers. Lucas took a huge breath as he felt an enormous weight being lifted off of his shoulders. And then he felt himself being lifted back up to his feet by his teammates who came running off of the bench.

Then Lucas saw Nathan coming towards him, and he hugged his brother for everything that they've been through and everything that they've done together to get to this point.

And they stood together in the crowd being congratulated as they watched their coach get hoisted up and cut the net down.

They smiled on with pride. And then as if they were thinking the same thing, they turned to each other and then turned back towards the sidelines where the could just barely see their family standing.

They walked over and split apart as everyone came onto the edge of the court to meet them. First hugging their parents who whispered words of pride to them. Then Nathan hugged Brooke and Lucas and Haley hugged tightly as well.

And then they split apart again. Nathan and Haley stood in each others arms for a while, and Lucas watched them for a second in admiration before turning his attention back to Brooke who, to his surprise and delight, bounded into his arms.

"Congratulations, Lucas," She whispered in his ear as he held her tightly.

When he finally released her from his arms she leaned back so that she could look at him as she spoke.

"So I don't know if this is the right time or whatever...but I need to know that this is going to work. I need to know that if we do _us_ again, that there isn't going to be anything else like what happened. I need to know because this is what I want. I want us again, I just can't let myself get hu—"

Lucas silenced her with a deep and passionate kiss that didn't go unnoticed by everyone around them.

When they finally broke apart breathlessly, they could still feel the tingle of each other on their lips.

"You and me," Lucas said, "is the most important thing in the world to me. I won't give that up for anything, Brooke, because I love you more than you'll ever know."

Brooke smiled brightly, showing off the dimples that Lucas loved so much. She leaned in and kissed him again, softer than the kiss before, but just as passionate.

When they broke apart again they had smiles plastered on their faces.

"Wait, I don't understand," Lucas said, his expression turning into the broody one that Brooke always found cute. "What changed? I mean, what did you find between this morning and now that got you here, to this point?"

Brooke smiled and looked down. She reached down to the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out the same piece of paper that she showed Haley and Rachel that morning.

She handed it to him and he opened it up to read.

"Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always," he could hear Brooke say to him as he stared at the paper in front of him. It had been five years and Brooke still had his best man's speech from Keith's wedding. She could not have been more right to use that as the sign she was looking for thought. That night was their turning point; the moment at which they made a conscious decision to move forward.

Lucas smiled and cupped Brooke cheek with his hand, bringing her in for another kiss.

He had never been happier than in that moment.

_Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always. A promise. Like a reward for persisting through life so long alone. A belief in each other and the possibility of love. A decision to ignore, simply rise above the pain of the past. A covenant, which at once binds two souls and yet severs prior ties. A celebration of the chance taken and the challenge that lies ahead. For two will always be stronger than one, like a team braced against the tempest civil world. And love will always be the guiding force in our lives. For tonight is mere formality. Only an announcement to the world of feelings long held. Promises made long ago. In the sacred spaces of our hearts. _

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Again, sorry that it took so long. In reviews please leave comments about what you want to happen with long distance thing in the future.**

**The next chapter will continue from after the game, but I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. **

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here's chapter 12!**

I know I said that i'd update on monday night for the second time, and i had intended to, but before i knew it, it was getting late. I had to pack and get to sleep early because i woke up at 5 AM on tuesday morning to make an 8 AM flight to San Francisco with my family (which is where i am now). Thank god i brought my laptop, i would probably have a breakdown if i couldnt read the fics and update this one. because im away, the updates will be a little slow, but ill still have some up soon. please just bare with me.

Thanks soooo much to everyone who reviewed!!!!

**Enjoy! **

* * *

"Coach, what did you think of the closeness of the game tonight?" One of the reporters asked Coach K at the post game press conference.

After the initial celebration died down and everyone made their way back to the locker room to continue the celebration.

After about 20 minutes, Coach K approached Lucas and Nathan to come with him to the press conference down the hall.

"I think it was a great game, and I'd say that whether we won or lost. It was two talented teams playing their hearts out. It really was a great game and I think that the closeness makes it that much better and more satisfying to win." Coach K said, answering the fifth question of the night. "If you all don't mind, I'm going to hand it over to my captains. Thank you," he said and then stood so that Nathan could sit in the seat in front of the microphones.

"Nathan! Nathan!" They all called out for his attention. He pointed to one of the reporters in front of them.

"Congratulations on the win Nathan," He started. "How does it feel to finally make it to this point?"

"It's uh," Nathan smiled. "It's pretty hard to describe actually. Amazing doesn't really do it all justice."

"And the title?" another asked.

"It's an honor to hold." Nathan said.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to say," Nathan spoke again before another reporter cut him off. "I just want to thank my friends and family, especially my wife, Haley, for everything they've put up with from me and this game. Having you here to support me means more than I could ever express." Nathan said sincerely. "I'll let you talk to my brother now, he's better with words than I am. Thank you," he added before getting up to let Lucas sit.

"Hi," Lucas said as he sat.

"What are you're thoughts on the win?" Someone quickly asked Lucas.

"It was gratifying and truly incredible. Not only is there a genuine happiness from winning, but the sense of accomplishment is amazing in its own right."

"And Nathan's title?"

"He deserves it, I may have hit that last shot, but Nathan really was the MVP of the game….And even if he got the honor, we both still know that I'm the better player," Lucas joked and everyone laughed.

"What was it like to hit that last shot?" Another person asked him.

"It was…surreal," Lucas said smiling. "I mean it was a great game; a really really good match up, so hitting that last shot for the win was….." Lucas trailed off, not sure how to put into words something like that. "I'll never forget the feeling of that moment." Lucas said, closing his eyes for a moment to remember it. "And like my brother, I have to thank the same people because they got me here too. Also our old coach Whitey, and my Uncle Keith, who uh, I just wish he could be here because he was the one that convinced me to take my game out of the park and into the gym. He and Brooke, they got me here and I can't thank them enough for that….Thank you," He added before standing to leave.

"If you all have anymore questions, feel free to ask me or you can catch the guys tomorrow before we leave." Coach K began to talk again as Lucas and Nathan left together.

* * *

15 minutes later, Lucas and Nathan were exiting the Garden to meet everyone outside.

"So," Nathan said as they approached the group and put his arms around Haley as Lucas slinked an arm around Brooke's waist and pulled her closer, relishing in the feeling of not only having her so close, but being able to do that again.

"Are you guys going to go out tonight?"

"Yeah," Lucas and Nathan answered. "And even better, we have no curfew."

"How did you manage that?" Haley asked, knowing how strict their coach usually was.

"Well either he's realllllly happy about the win," Lucas said.

"Or someone slipped something into his drink," Nathan joked. They were both surprised to be allowed out like that, but they both knew if they got into any kind of trouble, Coach K would have their heads before they even got back to campus.

"So basically we have until 11:30 tomorrow when we have to be back at the hotel." Lucas said. Brooke raised an eyebrow at him and he couldn't help but to laugh and blush a little.

"Well we would love to go out with you all, but we have a really early flight tomorrow, so we're going to head back to the hotel," Karen said.

"Oh," Lucas and Nathan said. "Well thanks for coming?" Nathan offered jokingly.

Lucas and Haley hit him on the shoulder.

"When am I going to get to see you again, Mom?" Lucas asked.

"I'll see you in a few weeks, but make sure you call me when you get back to Durham tomorrow, okay?"

Lucas nodded and hugged her goodbye.

"Still such a mama's boy," Brooke muttered to Haley who agreed at the sight of Nathan hugging Deb.

They both exchanged awkward hugs with Dan to say goodbye.

"Oh! We almost forgot!" Deb said as she pulled two envelopes out of her bag. "These are from you. They're a little sentimental, so if I were you two, I'd open them on the bus tomorrow and enjoy tonight instead." Karen said.

"Are they from you guys?" Lucas asked.

"No."

"Are you going to tell us who it's from?" Nathan asked.

"No."

"Okay then," Nathan shook his head and put the envelopes in his bag.

"So I guess this is goodbye, huh?" Lucas said as they all exchanged one last quick hug.

"We're all so proud of you," Karen told them before they walked off leaving the four standing together.

"Okay, let's go before you two get teary eyed on us," Brooke said as she and Haley pulled Nathan and Lucas along.

"Did you guys find Dan a little strange?" Lucas asked as they walked away.

"Yeah, he barely said a word," Nathan agreed.

"I think your moms threatened him before they allowed him to come up here to see you guys."

Lucas and Nathan stopped walking and stared with their mouths agape.

"Are you serious?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I was surprised too, even more surprised that it worked," Haley said as she and Brooke continued to pull them along.

"So where are you two taking us?" Lucas asked Brooke as he once again put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Well tutor-girl and I have a surprise for you," Brooke said mischievously.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Lucas asked.

"Well I can't tell you, that'd ruin the surprise," Brooke told him pointedly.

"Can you tell us where you are taking us?"

"To a restaurant," Haley said, not giving up much information either.

"Oh man," Nathan muttered.

"What'd we get ourselves into?"

* * *

"So you're not going to tell us anything?" Nathan asked for what seemed like the 20th time as they walked into the restaurant.

"No," Brooke and Haley said at the same time.

"Wait like 30 seconds okay?" Haley offered.

"Fine," Nathan huffed.

Brooke quickly gave her name to the Maitre 'D who then pointed to a table in the back. Brooke thanked the man and then signaled for everyone to follow her.

'Well Hales and I were thinking that this was the perfect event to get everyone back together for."

"Back together? What do you mean back together?" Lucas asked.

Brooke didn't answer, instead she just pointed to a large round table in front of them where Mouth, Skillz, Bevin, Rachel (and David), Jake, and Peyton all sat talking as they waited for the other four to arrive.

"No way," Lucas and Nathan said.

Lucas smiled and placed a quick kiss on Brooke's lips and then another on her forehead. "Thank you so much, Pretty Girl," Lucas whispered to her.

* * *

Everyone exchanged hugs and warm welcomes. Although no one admitted it, they all found it scary that he last time that they had all been together (minus Jake) was graduation night. Brooke and Rachel had known the restaurant owner well, so they had been sitting at the tables for hours catching up on just about everything.

They spent a huge amount of time forcing Jake to tell them every detail of his life because he had been out of contact for so long. They learned how he got Jenny back, and then how he got Peyton back too.

Everyone at the table was also shocked to hear that Rachel had a real boyfriend. Lucas of course joked that they were surprised not at her committing, but at the fact that someone would put up with her for an extended period of time. Rachel of course fought back in their usual bickering about how he was the only guy she had ever seen cry.

Lucas was embarrassed beyond belief…until Brooke whispered in his ear telling him that she knew he was all man.

The rest of the night had continued smoothly. They were pleasantly surprised that by the end of the night, it had felt like almost no time had passed. The only awkwardness came at the very end when Brooke had Peyton exchanged hugs goodbye. Everyone saw it coming, but no one said a word.

The goodbyes got a little emotional, but they had already promised to meet up in two months after graduation.

They all parted ways with much reluctance, most heading to hotels, but Lucas going back to Brooke's place for the night.

* * *

Lucas and Brooke practically stumbled into her apartment shortly after they left the restaurant.

They both felt that the day had been extraordinarily long, but they were also vaguely aware that it started almost 24 hours ago when Lucas called Brooke at 2 AM.

Because she knew her apartment so well, Brooke was easily able to navigate through the darkness. They had decided not to turn the lights on because not only were they too tired, but it probably wouldn't agree to well with the slight buzz they had from dinner.

Lucas, on the other hand, was beyond exhausted. He hadn't slept well (his call to Brooke was evidence of that), he was busy all day, he played with every ounce of physical strength he had during the game, sent his emotions on a rollercoaster ride shortly after with Brooke, and then sat down for a few hours to talk non-stop with his closest friends. Yeah, it had been a long day.

Lucas and Brooke had barely changed into clothes to sleep in when they both collapsed on the bed. They got under the covers and Lucas happily wrapped his arm around Brooke and pulled her closer.

They both stayed silent for a minute; fighting off sleep and savoring the touch of each other.

"Brooke?" Lucas mumbled.

"Mmm?" she barely answered back on the verge of falling asleep.

"About today,"

"Sleep," Brooke mumbled into his chest and she nestled closer to him. "Need sleep now. Talk….later."

"I just wanted to say thank you for everything," Lucas whispered as he felt his eyes getting heavy.

Brooke smiled faintly which was enough of an answer for Lucas. He too smiled and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before pulling her as close as possible.

"I love you," he whispered, seconds away from sleep.

He heard a faint "I love you too," mumbled together before they fell asleep together.

* * *

"Morning," Brooke whispered in the raspy voice that never failed to send shivers down Lucas' spine.

"Morning," Lucas grumbled with a crooked smile on his face. He was still exhausted from the previous day's events and the soreness from the game was in full swing (mostly because he staying in the same position all night with Brooke in his arms).

"What time is it?" Lucas asked, still trying to keep his eyes open for more than three seconds at a time.

Brooke lifted her head to look past Lucas and at the clock on one of the dressers.

"10:30."

"Eight solid hours, I can live with that," Lucas said as he stretched his legs out but kept his arms tightly around Brooke, not wanting to let go for anything. "Besides, I can sleep on the bus." Lucas added but immediately regretted it not only for the expression on Brooke's face, but for his own realization that he had to be on a bus in an hour.

They were silent, both trying to figure out what to say to his last comment. Everything would be okay? They'll work it out? They didn't know what to say.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about it now," Lucas suggested.

"Are you serious?" Brooke asked, not expecting Lucas to put off something like that.

"Yeah, I think so," Lucas said. "I mean, I hate to bring it up again, but I can only stay for about another half hour, then I have to go and pack up at the hotel."

"So when are we supposed to figure this all out?" Brooke asked suddenly more awake.

"Well you can expect a call from me everyday from here on out. We're going to talk and visit, and eventually we're going to start making plans together…..And then by the end of May when I graduate, we'll have it all worked out. We're going to be fine Brooke, better than fine. We're going to be happy."

Brooke smiled softly and leaned up to place a small kiss on his lips. Before it could get any deeper, she pulled away.

"How are you so sure of everything?" She asked.

"Because I love you and we're meant to be so the rest will fall into place."

"You're sexy when you're so sure of yourself," Brooke whispered in that raspy voice again.

Lucas blushed a little and raised an eyebrow before leaning in to kiss Brooke. This time they both gladly deepened the kiss. Lucas tightened an arm around her waist and quickly rolled her onto her back. He attempted to follow and prop himself up over her, but he quickly pulled back and collapsed back onto the bed with his face in the pillow.

"Lucas, are you okay?" Brooke asked as she sat up quickly in worry.

"Can't….move….muscles," Lucas spoke slowly into the pillow.

Brooke chuckled a little, but stopped when she realized that he was in actual pain.

"You know what I think you need?" Brooke whispered as she moved close to his ear.

"What?" Lucas asked slightly curious but still with his head in the pillow.

"A really nice long hot shower," Brooke whispered. "At least that's what I'm gonna have….Care to join me?" Brooke asked in her innocent yet suggestive tone as she got up out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

She had just turned on the water when she saw Lucas walking into the bathroom.

"So you're gonna take me up on that offer?" Brooke asked. If she was as excited as Lucas, she definitely wasn't showing it.

"Don't you know it," Lucas whispered as he wrapped his arms around Brooke from behind. Sure his muscles still ached as though he just did a triathlon, but seeing Brooke smile, especially seductively, never failed to make him forget about all of his other problems.

"Come on," Brooke lead him a few feet forward.

Lucas stripped himself of his clothes just in time for Brooke to pull him into the already steaming shower.

* * *

"Well that was fast," Brooke said as she handed Lucas a large cup of coffee in the hotel lobby 50 minutes later.

They had spent every last second possible in the shower together which they both thoroughly enjoyed.

They headed over to the hotel and Lucas went upstairs to pack up his things while Brooke went on a Starbucks run for them and Naley who were upstairs in Lucas and Nathan's room.

"Well I didn't bring too much with me so it was pretty easy to just throw in my bag," Lucas said shrugging.

"Wow, your mom would be so proud," Brooke said sarcastically.

Lucas' expression turned serious.

"Please don't tell her," he begged. "You know my mom, she'll drive all the way to Durham just to make sure I've done my laundry and stuff if she finds out about this."

Brooke tried her best to stifle a laugh, but it didn't work and she found herself bursting out in laughter at Lucas' fear of Karen.

"Don't worry, Broody," Brooke reassured him as she regained her composure. "I won't tell."  
"Thank you," he said before kissing her softly, completely oblivious to most of his teammates who were now watching them.

"So where are Nathan and Haley?" Brooke asked.

"They'll be down in a few seconds; Haley was just making sure that Nathan was all packed."

"Of course she was, she is tutor wife after all."

"Yeah, I guess so," Lucas said smiling. He was barely listening; he was more focused on soaking up every second with Brooke before he had to leave.

"Hey guys," They could hear Nathan and Haley say from behind them.

Brooke and Lucas quickly turned to greet the two.

Before they could even start a conversation they heard Coach K yelling at the players to start getting on the bus.

Lucas and Nathan both let out an exasperated sigh.

"We'll go put our bags on the bus and then come back to say goodbye," Nathan said as he and Lucas reluctantly headed off with their bags.

Brooke and Haley followed them out the door but waited right outside as they watched the guys load their stuff with the rest of the team.

"You okay, tigger?" Haley asked as she put an friendly and reassuring arm around Brooke's shoulders.

"I already miss him," Brooke admitted, trying her best to keep the tears at bay.

"I know, I know," Haley whispered.

"Yeah, but you get to see Nathan tonight, I have to wait for got knows how long!"

"Brooke," Haley said softly. "No one said that it was going to be easy. You know it's not. But you have to be strong so that you and Lucas can work everything out in the end."

"Yeah, but it already hurts," Brooke complained.

"And I'm sure Lucas is saying the same thing to Nathan right now, but you have to be strong, Brooke."

Brooke nodded sadly as the guys made their way over. Both Lucas and Brooke were doing a horrible job as keeping their emotions at bay. They both looked like someone had just ripped out their hearts and they were going to cry.

Before Lucas had even made the full distance towards Brooke, she launched herself into his arms.

"It'll be okay," Lucas whispered into her hair. "Everything will be okay, you'll see."

Brooke nodded, wanting so much to fully believe him.

"I'm gonna miss you, Pretty Girl," Lucas said as they pulled out of the hug to look at each other.

"I'm going to miss you too, Luke."

"I'll talk to you in a few hours, and before we know it, we'll be seeing each other again."

Brooke nodded, still unable to speak because she feared that if she did, she'd start crying.

Lucas cupped Brooke's face in his hand and she slinked her arms around his neck as he pulled her in for a searing kiss.

To those watching, the kiss seemed everlasting, but to Brooke and Lucas, it seemed far too short.

"I love you," Lucas and Brooke said at the same time causing them to smile and laugh a little.

"This isn't goodbye, Brooke," He whispered softly. He had realized that Nathan was already on the bus and that he was the last one. That meant two things; everyone was watching him, and he only had about ten seconds left before he got yelled at. "This isn't goodbye."

Brooke nodded once more.

Lucas gave her one last kiss; one that caused the first tear to roll down Brooke's cheek.

"Don't cry, Pretty girl," Lucas said soothingly as he wiped the tear away. He put on his best smile and whispered his love for her once more before turning to get on the bus.

And that was it. Lucas was on the bus somewhere that Brooke couldn't see, and Brooke was left standing in front of the hotel with Haley by her side, silent tears running down her cheeks.

She felt a vibrating in her pocket.

She took out her blackberry and checked her messages.

It was a text from Lucas that she read as the bus pulled away.

_"I love you and I'll see you soon." _

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Again, sorry that it took so long. In reviews please leave comments about what you want to happen with long distance thing in the future.**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	13. Chapter 13

**Here's chapter 13!**

**Happy New Year!!!!!!**

**Sorry it's taken so long to update, but I'm back in New York now so i'll have plenty of time to update before school starts again. **

**Thanks so much to everyone who left reviews! Especially the long ones and the ones with suggestions. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The bus ride was fairly quiet. Everyone was still exhausted because of the extended curfew, so half the team was sleeping. Nathan was one of those who was asleep; clearly he and Haley didn't get much sleep the night before.

"Hey," Nathan huffed as he sat down next to Lucas.

Lucas finally pulled his love sick gaze away from the window and to Nathan who was now sitting next to him and rubbing his eyes to wake himself up.

"Hey, when'd you wake up?" Lucas asked.

"Like a minute ago," Nathan said as he rolled his neck. "So how are you doing?"

Lucas took a deep breath and let out a huge sigh.

"I don't know how I'm gonna survive without her."

"I figured you'd say something like that," Nathan said. "So I brought you something to take your mind off of her."

"Oh yeah? What could you possibly have?" Lucas asked.

"These," Nathan said as he pulled out two envelopes. "I found them when I was looking for my ipod. We both completely forgot about them."

"Damn," Lucas said, surprised that he had forgotten about something he was so eager to look at. Then again, he had spent the night curled up next to Brooke, so the rest of the world didn't really matter. "You want to open them?"

Nathan nodded and opened one.

"It's from…Whitey," Nathan said surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah?" Nathan said as he moved the letter between them so that they could both read.

"_Dear Nathan and Lucas- It's been a long road for you two boys and I know that you will continue your success long after this game. You may have been the biggest pain in the ass a coach could ever have, but you also taught me more than I would like to admit. You two changed everything about the way I saw the game. You made me realize in the hardest moments what is so important about the how we play the game; how we deal with it on and off of the court. For that I will always be grateful that I had the chance to be your coach. I am so proud of where you are today; as players and as brothers. Achieving what you have says just as much about your character as it does your skills with a basketball. Enclosed are two important pictures that I think will show you just how much you have grown and changed for the better. I hope to see you soon. Keep running those suicides. –Whitey. P.S. - The pictures are there to prove how much you've grown."_

Both Lucas and Nathan smiled at Whitey's words. Whitey had changed their lives more than they could have ever imagined. He was the one that brought them together. The simple action of bringing Lucas onto the team changed their lives as brothers and as individuals. For that they would always be grateful.

But then they felt slightly guilty. Their talks with Whitey had become few and far between. They struggled to keep in touch with their past as their future kept pulling them forward. They knew one thing for sure though; they would never forget or take for granted Whitey Durham and what he had done for them.

Nathan reached back into the slim white envelope and pulled out two pictures that Whitey had enclosed with the letter. The first picture was a little shocking; funny, scary, and shocking. It was of Lucas and Nathan literally choking each other as they stumbled backwards onto the court during Midnight Madness of their senior year. The next picture seemed like the total opposite. It was Nathan and Lucas smiling proudly together. Each had an arm around the others shoulders as their free hands held the state championship trophy in front of them.

"Everything alright?" They heard Coach K's voice above them.

They both looked up to see him standing there watching them. Once they looked up he took a seat in the row across from them.

"Yeah," Nathan said. "Did we stop?"

"Yes," Coach K said laughing a little at how oblivious they were. "We stopped about two minutes ago. Everyone got off, but you two were in your own little world. What's going on anyway?"

"We were just reading a letter from our old coach, Whitey," Lucas said as he handed the two pictures over. It wasn't necessary to hand the letter over (that was too personal), but the pictures were pretty amusing.

"Is this real?" Coach K asked. "I mean is it photo shopped or are you two really trying to kill each other."

"We were really trying to kill each other," Nathan said, smiling slightly at the memories; good and bad.

"Well clearly you've come a long way."

"Yeah," Lucas and Nathan agreed.

"You know I'm proud of you guys; for everything. Last night and the past four years."

"Thanks."

"No, thank you," Coach K said. "None of this would have been possible without everything that you two have put into this. You guys really deserve it."

Lucas and Nathan smiled, knowing that they did deserve it. They wanted it; they worked for it; they achieved it.

"Listen," Coach K said as he stood and handed the pictures back to Nathan who tucked them safely back into the envelope and into his bag. "I'm going to go get something to eat. Get up, stretch, whatever, but we leave in 15 minutes, alright?"

Both boys nodded.

"Alright," Coach K said before leaving the bus and leaving Lucas and Nathan alone.

"Can we open the second letter when we leave again?" Nathan asked as he stood and stretched his arms up above his head; he was clearly just as sore as Lucas.

"Yeah."

"Good. I'm gonna go stretch my legs and grab something to eat, then call Haley. You coming?" Nathan asked.

"No, I'm gonna stay here and take care of some stuff."

"And by stuff you mean calling Brooke?" Nathan asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," Lucas said with an uncontrollable smile that crossed his face every time her name was mentioned.

"Yeah, I thought so," Nathan smirked. "I'm going. You want me to pick you up anything?"

"Yeah, a drink would be great, man."

"No problem," Nathan said as he started to walk off the bus. "See you in a few!" He called out as he walked off, leaving Lucas alone to call Brooke.

* * *

"Brooke?!" Rachel called as she let herself into Brooke' apartment.

"Be right out!" Brooke called back and within a few seconds she emerged from her bedroom to join Rachel in the living room. "What's up?" Brooke asked.

"How was your night?" Rachel asked suggestively.

"It was really good," Brooke said smiling.

"You two get it on yet?" Rachel asked as she fished through her bag for something.

"No."

"No?" Rachel asked surprised.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's too early for that," Brooke said.

"Is it really, or were you two just too nervous?"

"It's really two early. We weren't awkward or anything; we just weren't ready to start…that…again."

Rachel looked skeptically at Brooke.

"I know what you're thinking, and believe me, I'm happy with what happened," Brooke insisted. "Besides, it'll be that much better when I see him again."

"Absence makes the heart grow…hornier?"

Brooke laughed. "Yeah, something like that."

Both Brooke and Rachel laughed for a minute, realizing that it was actually true.

"So why are you here anyway?" Brooke asked. "I thought you were spending the day with David."

"I was. I am. He's got an important meeting with his agent and I'll only be here for a minute to show you something."

"Okay, and what would you like to show me?" Brooke asked.

"This," Rachel said as she pulled out a DVD. "Catherine asked me to show this to you. She said that she'll see you on Monday, but she wanted you to see this first."

"What is this?"

"Sports Center from this morning."

"Rachel," Brooke sighed. "In all of the years that you've known me, when have I ever watched something on ESPN?"

"Don't think I don't know that you watched all of Lucas' games and appearances; you're not that sneaky," Rachel told Brooke who looked down because she had been caught. She had always insisted that she never wanted to see Lucas on TV or in the newspaper, but she would secretly record all of his appearances.

"Look I'm not here to berate you."

"You're not?" Brooke asked. "Then what are you here for?"

"To show you this morning's Sports Center, because not only is Lucas in it, but so are _you_."

"Me?!"

"Yes you," Rachel said as she put the DVD in the player and turned on the TV.

"Why am I in it?"

"Because some camera man got a candid of you and Lucas making out on the court after the game last night."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Rachel said as she hit play.

First were the high lights of the game and the celebration afterward, then Coach K at the press conference, followed by Nathan, and finally Lucas.

_"It was…surreal," Lucas said smiling. "I mean it was a great game; a really really good match up, so hitting that last shot for the win was….." Lucas trailed off, not sure how to put into words something like that. "I'll never forget the feeling of that moment." Lucas said, closing his eyes for a moment to remember it. "And like my brother, I have to thank the same people because they got me here too. Also our old coach Whitey, and my Uncle Keith, who uh, I just wish he could be here because he was the one that convinced me to take my game out of the park and into the gym. He and Brooke, they got me here and I can't thank them enough for that….Thank you," He added before standing to leave._

_"Now watch this," The sports caster's voice came back as a clip of Lucas and immediately after the game appeared. "The girl he walks over to," He said as the TV showed Brooke and Lucas talking before he cut her off by kissing her. "That's the Brooke he was talking about. And the Brooke he was talking about was the Brooke Davis of Clothes' over Bros."_

Forgetting about the publicity part, Brooke couldn't help but smile as she saw her and Lucas together.

"There's more, but I figure that's enough for now," Rachel said as she turned the TV off.

"Yeah," Brooke agreed.

"Well based off that stupid love sick grin on your face, I'm guessing you're not upset about this."

"Not really," Brooke answered honestly. They showed something that was real and they didn't twist the truth at all. She had nothing to be upset with.

"Good. Then I'm going to go, you can watch the rest if you'd like. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Rachel asked as she began to leave just as Brooke's phone started ringing.

"Yeah, I'll call you tonight!" Brooke called as she looked for her cell phone.

Rachel left just as Brooke answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pretty Girl," Lucas said happily into the phone. The same love sick grin on his face now that he was hearing her voice again.

"Hey boyfriend," Brooke greeted him, taking a moment to savor calling him boyfriend again. "Where are you?"

"D.C. I think." Lucas said looking out the window. "We stopped for a minute and I had to call you. I miss you so much already."

"I miss you too, Lucas," Brooke said. She quickly pushed away the sadness in favor of a happier subject. "So guess what happened this morning?"

"What?"

"We were caught making out on Sports Center," Brooke giggled a little, imagining his face. Lucas was never a big fan of everyone in his personal life. Yet with Brooke, he didn't mind the PDA at all.

"Are you serious?" Lucas asked.

"I am."

"Great," Lucas said and then quickly caught himself. "I mean, I love that everyone knows that I have the honor of being your boyfriend, but the guys on the team are never going to let this go."

Brooke laughed imagining them all teasing him. After all, it was the first girl they had ever seen him with.

"Well if they really bother you, you can just remind them that you're the one with me and they're not."

"That's true. They're all definitely missing out." Lucas laughed.

"Don't you know you it."

"Mmhmm," Lucas laughed. "So what are you doing today anyway?"

"Just hanging around, working on some sketches."

"Haley left?"

"Yeah about two hours ago."

"God, I wish I was there with you."

"Yeah, me too," Brooke said sadly. "But there is someone I wanted to call."  
"Yeah? Who?"

Brooke was silent for a moment, contemplating whether or not she really wanted to make the call.

"Peyton," She said quietly.

"Really?" Lucas asked surprised.

"Yeah, I mean last night she said that she and Jake had a flight that left late tonight, so I might call her and see if she wants to meet for coffee or something. I don't know. It's just that last night I realized how much of each other's lives we've missed out on."

"I think it would be great if you called her. For both of you."

"I think I will," Brooke said more confidently.

"Oh, great," Lucas mumbled.

"What?"

"The guys are coming back to the bus. I'm gonna have to go before they steal my phone and start talking to you," Lucas said seriously. "But I'll call you when we get in, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, Luke."

"I love you too, Brooke," Lucas smiled as he heard and said the words.

"I'll talk to you soon," Brooke said sadly, realizing that most of their conversations for the next few months would be like this.

"Yeah….bye," Lucas said just as sadly as they hung up.

"You okay man?" Nathan asked as he reappeared on the bus with some other guys.

"Yeah," Lucas said quietly as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Brooke?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah."

"It'll get easier."

"Yeah, I hope so."

"Wait a minute," Marcus cut in. Marcus had become close friends with both Lucas and Nathan over the past four years, and though he didn't know much, he still knew more about Lucas' personal life than most people. "Is this the Brooke that you've been makin out with all week?"

Lucas nodded smiling.

"Damn!" Marcus said. "Who knew Luke could get such a hot girlfriend." The guys all laughed at Marcus who was usually the one from the bunch to always be joking around. He was a carefree, partying, serial dating, regular college guy, but when it came to basketball, he was dead serious.

"Now tell me," Marcus continued. "Does she know that you haven't touched a girl in years?"

"Ha-ha," Lucas dead panned. "And yes," he added quietly. "She does."

Marcus laughed some more as he continued to poke fun at Lucas' 'new' relationship.

After the coaches came back onto the bus, they all got settled again for the long ride to Durham because there wouldn't be anymore stops if they wanted to get there that night.

"So," Nathan said after they got settled.

"Are you going to ask me about Brooke?" Lucas asked sounded playfully annoyed.

"No," Nathan laughed at the ten minutes of teasing that the guys put Lucas through. Even though Lucas was their captain, they all still had fun together. "I was actually going to say that we should read that second letter."

"Oh, right," Lucas said quietly. "you have it?"  
"Yeah," Nathan said as he pulled it out of his bag and then out of the envelope.

"Whoa," Nathan said quietly.

"What?"

"It's from Dan," Nathan said, staring at the letter as he moved it between himself and Lucas so that they could read together.

_"Dear Lucas and Nathan, I know that you may not want to hear from me, but I needed to tell you how proud I am of you. We may not have had the best relationship, but that doesn't make me any less proud of everything you've accomplished. You were able to go above and beyond what I could. I know that you still resent me for everything that has happened; especially the way that I treated the game, but I hope someday that you would be willing to accept me again as your father. Again, I'm so proud of you. –Dan."_

"Huh." Nathan said as he folded the letter back up and put it away; not wanting to stare at it any longer.

Lucas didn't say anything.  
"You okay man?" Nathan asked.

"What uh- what do you think of it?" Lucas asked tentatively, not looking at Nathan, but rather the bag where the letter now was.

"Uh, it's weird I guess. I mean, I never expected that from him, you know?"

"Yeah," Lucas agreed. "Is it weird that this makes me angry?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that…he didn't even have the guts to say this to our face, you know? He couldn't look us in the eye and tell us this. And it makes me angry that at the very end he says this, not when we were younger and actually wanted his approval."

Nathan nodded. Although he agreed with Lucas, he was still secretly happy that his father had written this to them.

"It's great that he he's happy for us or whatever, but he made it seem like all of the shit he pulled doesn't matter as long as he tells us this."  
"Lucas," Nathan said softly, trying to stop Lucas before he got worked up. "I get it, okay? I get why you're angry and you have every right to be, but don't let it get to you this much. It's really not worth it."

Lucas took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm gonna try to get some sleep," He said after a minute as he pulled out his Ipod.

"Yeah, me too," Nathan agreed as he stood up to go to another empty row. He looked over at Lucas one last time with concern, but decided not to say anything. Instead he left Lucas to work out his thoughts on his own as he stared out the window at the passing cars.

Lucas leaned his head against the window and sighed. He knew he shouldn't have gotten that worked up about the letter. The truth was that he was angry because he didn't want to hear Dan's lame excuse for an apology. All he really wanted was for Keith to have been there with him.

Lucas sighed and closed his eyes, letting memories of Keith, the game, and Brooke flow through his mind as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

Brooke listened to the phone ringing in her ear as she waited for Peyton to pick up her cell phone. She had called Mouth to get her number, and now as she waited to talk to Peyton, she couldn't help but wonder why.

All she knew is that she felt the need to talk to her alone after all these years. She didn't know what she was expecting to come of it. In fact she was a little afraid to find what would happen between them, but that didn't stop the uncontrollable need to call her.

"Hello?" Peyton answered at the unfamiliar number.

"Hey Peyton, it's me, uh, Brooke," Brooke said nervously.

"Hey!" Peyton said, surprised and happy to hear from Brooke. "What's up, is everything alright? Did something bad happen?"

"No, why?"

"Oh," Peyton said sheepishly. "I didn't expect to hear from you, so I guess I assumed that something happened and that's why you were getting in touch with me."

"Oh," Brooke laughed a little. "No, actually I was wondering if you were free before your flight tonight."

"Yeah, why?"

"Um, I guess I was just hoping that maybe we could see each other, get some coffee or something?" Brooke suggested.

"Yeah," Peyton smiled on the other end of the phone. "I would love that."

"Good. Um, so can I pick you up in front of your hotel in like 25 minutes?"

"Yeah, that sounds great."

"Okay, I'll see you then," Brooke said more confidently.

"See you then," Peyton said, still smiling as she hung up the phone.

Brooke was also smiling slightly as she hung up. She couldn't believe how nice it felt to talk to Peyton again, and as long as they avoided their taboo subjects, talking to her over coffee would probably be exactly what she was looking for.

As long as they had been apart, Brooke still considered Peyton to be one of her best friends. Although Brooke knew that they would never have the same friendship again, they were taking a step in the right direction.

* * *

Lucas stepped off the bus, stretching his arms up high over his head. He had slept for most of the ride from DC to Duke, and he was more than ready to get his stuff and go back to his bedroom to and go back to sleep. He was still exhausted from everything and he knew that he still had school work, meetings with the team, as well as everything else to deal with in the morning.

He took his bags and headed back to the house he shared with a few teammates. He said goodbye to Nathan who lived with Haley in an apartment a few minutes away.

He lazily trudged up the stairs of the house with a few of the other guys and made his was into his room just in time to collapse on his bed.

He checked his messages quickly as he changed into sweats. One message was from his mom, one from Skillz, one from Mouth, one from his advisor, and a few from his friends.

He didn't bother calling back anyone. Instead he quickly dialed the numbers and waited as the phone rang until that familiar voice picked up.

"Hey, Pretty Girl," he said softly.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Again, sorry that it took so long. **

**I would really appreciate it if you could all leave suggestions on how you want the long distance thing to work itself out after Lucas graduates. Also, if you have any other ideas/suggestions, i would love to hear them. **

**I have the next few chapters planned out already, so they shouldn't take too long to write. **

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's chapter 14!**

**WARNING!!!! there is a very _mature_ scene at the end of this chapter. i'm giving you fair warning now. im a little nervous about it, so tell me what you think (if your comfortable with that or whatever) **

**Thanks so much to everyone who left reviews! Especially the long ones and the ones with suggestions. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

They spent the next painfully long six weeks apart. They were both busy; Lucas with the end of school nearing and Brooke with an upcoming fashion show, but that didn't stop the almost unbearable pain that they felt from being away from each other.

They would talk on the phone as much as possible. They would sometimes only call to check in during lunch, in the mornings, or before they went to sleep. But then they would also spend hours on the phone late at night talking about anything and everything. Sometimes it was just knowing that the other person was on the line that made them happy.

They got into a comfortable schedule of calling that made the days go by a little faster, but despite their best efforts, it was getting harder to spend the time apart. More than talking for hours at a time, more than the letters that Lucas began to send Brooke, more than just knowing that the other person was there listening; they wanted more than anything to physically be with each other again. To be able to hold each other in their arms and be able to kiss the other whenever they felt like it. To be together and know that nothing was separating them.

As much as they spoke on the phone, and as much as Lucas poured his heart into his letters, there were still things that remained unsaid between them. The scariest thing that they never spoke about is what could happen when they saw each other for the first time after so long. They worried that it wouldn't be the same when they saw each other again. They worried that the distance did too much damage.

But neither said anything and they both eventually found themselves in denial that things might not work out; both with the same thoughts. _They just had to. They were meant to be, so everything would fall into place. Right? _

That's what Lucas was thinking as he stepped off of the plane in New York one Saturday afternoon in mid May. Brooke had a big show that night and she had begged him to come. He agreed to come up for the weekend, and then see agreed to take a vacation and spend a week down at Duke with him. He only had about four classes, and the week she would be down there would be the last real week of classes, so there were definitely going to be parties that they could go to together. But besides the parties and fashion shows, they were both beyond ecstatic to see each other again.

Lucas quickly found the bodyguard looking man who was waiting for him. Brooke had sent her driver to pick Lucas up, take his bags to her house, and take him to see her at the office. She couldn't leave because her show was that night and she was officially in what she and Rachel referred to as "the red zone"; or the 48 hours before a show.

Within an hour Lucas was stepping out of the black Mercedes that had pulled over in front of a nice office building in midtown.

He was directed inside and to the top floor where the Clothes over Bros offices were.

As he watched the small screen in the elevator, he was sure that his heart rate jumped 10 bpm every time the floor changed and he got that much closer to seeing Brooke.

As he stepped out from behind the doors he headed straight for the receptionists desk. He was directed to a conference room in the back where he was told "Miss Davis is waiting for you."

He smiled at the thought of seeing her there in front of him once again. As he began to walk his paranoid fears about nothing being the same crept back into his head. Thoughts of another breakup, awkwardness, and any other bad situation flooded his mind.

Then he saw her. He was still halfway down the hall, but as soon as he saw her through the glass doors, his breath caught in his throat and he knew that it would all be okay. He knew that because even seeing her from a distance still had this effect on him. He knew because his heart ached for her and he would never give her up. He would fight for her for the rest of his life if he had to.

He was still walking down the hall towards her. She was looking intently at a design board and seemed to be talking to the other people in the room which included Rachel who also seemed to be giving orders. He could see everything in the room now; pictures, sketches, the actual clothes, as well as about 10 people all listening intently to Brooke and Rachel, only speaking when it was necessary.

And then she looked up for a split second to talk to someone. And then she just barely caught his gaze causing her to do a double take to make sure that it was really him.

Lucas' heart seemed to stop just for a moment in fear that they wouldn't know how to act around each other.

But all of his fears were silenced indefinitely when she practically shrieked, burst through the double doors and into his arms.

"God I missed you, Pretty Girl," Lucas whispered into her ear.

"I missed you too, Luke," Brooke said with possibly the biggest smile ever gracing her face.

Lucas placed her slowly on the ground and they pulled away just enough to be able to look each other in the eye with huge smiles on their faces.

"Is this real?" Lucas breathed out.

Brooke laughed and nodded.

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked completely seriously as he ran his hands around her waist and up and down her arms.

Instead of answering, Brooke slowly moved closer to Lucas, leaning her head up just enough to brush her lips softly against his. Lucas used his hand on the small of her back and the one tangled in her soft brown hair to pull Brooke closer and deepen the kiss.

"Yeah, definitely real," Lucas grinned after they pulled away.

Brooke nodded, still with the giant smile on her face.

"So how was your flight?" She finally asked.

"It was good. I got a little work done."

"That's good. Do you still have a lot?"

"Unfortunately," Lucas said making a disappointed face.

"We—" Brooke was cut off by Rachel behind him.  
"Brooke?" Rachel called for her. "Hi Lucas," she greeted, obviously distracted or else she would have shot him a 'compliment'.

"What is it Rach?" Brooke asked.

"I know your….busy," Rachel said, referring to Brooke in Lucas' arms in the middle of the office. "But we have a serious problem," Rachel said before reentering the conference room.

Brooke sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I understand," Lucas said sincerely. Although he was disappointed that she was being torn away so quickly, he came to New York knowing how busy she would be.

"Are you sure?" Brooke asked, already feeling extremely guilty.

"I'm positive. I would never ask you to drop this. Besides, I have work to do, remember?" Lucas asked, pointing to the bag with his laptop and books that was now on the floor after he dropped it to hug Brooke.

"Okay," Brooke sighed. "Jane!" Brooke called for her assistant.

"Yes Miss—Brooke?" Jane asked as she tentatively approached the two who still seemed to be in a personal moment.

"Can you show Lucas to my office?"

"Of course."

"And get him whatever he needs, okay?"

"Of course."

"Why thank you," Lucas said.

"I'm sorry about this," Brooke sighed.

"Brooke," Lucas said softly but sternly as he placed a hand on her cheek, caressing it softly to savor touching her again. "I said don't worry about it. It's not a big deal at all. I need to get work done anyway."

Brooke eyed him. Although he was being sincere, Brooke still felt guilty for having to leave him so soon.

"Now go, apparently you have an emergency to take care of," Lucas said, the smile never leaving his face as he looked deeply into her eyes.

Brooke rolled her eyes. It probably wasn't that big of a deal, but considering the show was that night, she couldn't take any chances.

"Oh, and one more thing," Lucas said as he gently grabbed her arm to pull her back to him. "I love you," he whispered.

Brooke smiled and kissed him softly.

"I love you too," she whispered before walking back into conference room.

* * *

"What?" Brooke asked almost obliviously as she walked back into the office where Rachel, and other important people in Clothes over Bros were just staring at her.

Brooke was a professional. She never showed too much emotion. She always kept her personal life and problems away from her work. That's why it was so shocking to see the always composed Brooke Davis shriek and run into the arms of a guy in the middle of the office, a few hours before a show.

"What do you think?" Rachel asked.

"Whatever," Brooke muttered to Rachel. "Look, just forget about….what just happened and tell me what this emergency is," Brooke said with authority as she sat back down at the head of the long table, trying to focus on her work and not think about what Lucas was doing in her office.

* * *

"Brooke!" Lucas called from the doorway of Brooke's apartment.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a second!" Brooke called to Lucas from her bedroom. 'One second' Lucas scoffed. He knew it would be at least five more minutes.

Two and a half hours after Brooke went back to work, she walked into her office to find Lucas sleeping on the couch after working vigorously for two hours.

A half an hour later they were back at Brooke's apartment to get ready for the show. Lucas would be sitting in the front row with David while he watched the show. Afterwards, Brooke had told him, he would be escorted to the back to see her where she'd probably be dealing with some routine things before they left together.

Lucas didn't mind at all. This company was Brooke's dream, and he would never expect her to drop something just because he was in town.

He was especially curious to go to the show because he wanted more of a first hand view at what Brooke's life was like. Although he had made sure to be aware of everything she was doing over the past few years, this was the first time he was with Brooke while she was working, and he was excited to see more of her life.

"Almost ready!" Brooke called out to him.

He trusted that, as late as she always was after getting ready, she wouldn't be late for her own show. And he was right; Brooke was never late for a show and tonight wouldn't be an exception.

Brooke had everything planned out pretty perfectly for that weekend. After the show they would go back to her place, both already imagining what the night would be like. They had the morning to themselves, then they would probably go out for a light lunch before they headed back to her place to pack up and head to the airport.

After that, it was all up to Lucas. He had informed her of most of their plans for the week, which included mostly alone time, time with Nathan and Haley, parties, and other parts of his Duke life.

"Okay! Ready," Brooke huffed with satisfaction as she took one last look around the apartment to make sure that she had everything. "Lucas, are you ready?" Brooke asked absentmindedly, not really looking his way yet.

"Uh, ye-yeah, I am," Lucas stuttered, causing Brooke to look at him curiously. "You look amazing, Brooke," Lucas finally smiled.

"Why thank you," Brooke said cheerily, desperately trying to hide the blush that came to her face every time Lucas complimented her.

"Shall we?" Lucas asked, holding out his arm for Brooke who smiled brightly as she accepted and they left the apartment together.

* * *

Lucas watched intently as he sat in the front row. It wasn't so much that he was interested in the fashion, but more in Brooke and what her life was like.

As he watched the clothes breeze by him, he couldn't help but smirk every so often. Her taste may have matured a lot, but they all screamed 'Brooke Davis'.

Before Lucas knew what was happening, all of the models were coming out again and everyone around him was standing and applauding.

And then Brooke walked out, dimpled smile and all, to greet everyone.

"Thank you!" Brooke greeted everyone sincerely.

During one of their many conversations over the past few weeks, Lucas remembered Brooke talking about her shows. He remembered how she said that even though she had held and been to a thousand and one of them, she still got butterflies in her stomach as the house lights went down and she still felt her heart pound during her small speech at the end.

"Really, thank you so much," Brooke continued as everyone took their seats again. "I'm sure that you all know the drill at these things, so I actually wanted to take this opportunity to mention something else," Brooke continued, becoming more comfortable with each word as she moved around the runway like a pro. "The other day I was looking at some of my oldest designs and I realized that this year marks five years since I started Clothes over Bros. It's true. Most people don't know that I first started all of this my senior year in high school as a way to distract me from….boy troubles," Brooke said smiling as she winked over to Lucas.

Lucas was laughing a little because he couldn't help but reminisce about high school in general; especially the times when he would walk into her apartment to find Brooke surrounded by fabric and sketches.

"Without some of my closest friends and the people here tonight, I wouldn't be where I am, so I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart…you all really did make my dream come true," Brooke finished, still smiling with a hint of a tear in her eye from the immense amount of gratitude she felt towards everyone who helped her. Brooke was independent, but she still did need help along the way.

* * *

Lucas and David guy-talked for a while as they waited to go into the back. They weren't allowed back until the girls were done with the big investors and other important 'money people'. Lucas and David joked that as professional as the two women were, they still probably reverted back to their old flirting ways with some particularly stubborn investors and other important people who they need support from.

Lucas didn't mind waiting with David too much for two reasons. The first was because David happened to be a really down to earth guy, which surprised Lucas since he was dating Rachel. The second reason was because he was fairly busy with the people coming up to talk to him. Lucas and Nathan were pretty recognizable figures in the college (and therefore regular) sports world. Lucas was happy to talk to people and sign autographs. He still found that whole aspect of the game intimidating yet humbling at the same time. He loved when a kid would tell him that he wanted to be just like him one day, and he felt honored when adults would compare him to great college players before him.

"Alright, I got the okay from Rachel, let's go," David said to Lucas as he closed his cell phone. "You still have that backstage pass thing?"

"Yeah," Lucas said, holding up the badge/ID that allowed them to go in the back.

"Well then let's go," David said as they began to walk over.

They quickly found Rachel who was talking to some of the models. Lucas was pleasantly surprised to see David go over to hug and kiss Rachel. As much as they two bickered, Lucas still thought of her as a friend and was happy to see that she had grown up over the years; a functional relationship was a testament to that fact.

Lucas looked around and spotted Brooke quickly.

He walked over and stood a few feet away, taking a moment to observe Brooke who was talking animatedly with a few reporters and celebrities who he recognized easily. Brooke seemed to be very friendly with all of them; not a professional friendly, but more that seeing these people was a regular occurrence.

"Lucas!" Brooke exclaimed once she realized he was standing there.

Lucas just smiled as she bounded into his arms and he held her tight.

"So what'd you think?" Brooke asked, practically forgetting about the people she was talking to who were now watching them.

"I thought it was fantastic…I mean I don't really know much about fashion, but I still thought it was amazing," Lucas said truthfully.

"Of course you did, it was Brooke's show. And we all know that you know nothing about fashion, I mean Brooke practically dressed you all of senior year. Without her you'd wear jeans and a gray t-shirt everyday," Rachel said as she and David walked over to the group.

"Nice to see you too Rach!" Lucas said sarcastically. "Good to know you're still the spawn of Satan."

"Well someone's got to keep up the job," Rachel responded, clearly satisfied with her position.

"And why not have the biggest bitch on the face of the planet hold the position?" Brooke added.

"Well you were too busy, so I figured I'd step in," Rachel retorted, smiling the whole time.

"Ladies…" Lucas and David said at the same time. Although they knew it was just fun and games, they also knew that the two could go at it for hours if they were really in a good mood which they were in after the successful show.

"Whatever," Brooke and Rachel muttered. Everyone knew that Brooke and Rachel were best friend and basically ran the company together, but not many people knew how they acted in their friendship.

"Annnyway," Brooke said turning back to the people. "I guess we're finished here. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, thank you very much," the three female reports thanked Brooke and then left as Rachel was now quietly chatting with the few celebrities who were still there.

"So what now?" Lucas asked as Brooke made sure that she had all of her things that she needed to take home that night.

"Are you two coming to the party?" Rachel asked Brooke. They always threw a big after party for their shows.

"Do you think you could cover for me tonight?" Brooke asked.

"Of course, so what are you doing?" Rachel asked suggestively.

"Well I figured I'd take Lucas home and have my way with him," Brooke said, raising an eyebrow slightly and laughed when she saw Lucas' cheeks begin to turn deep red. "Shall we, Broody?" Brooke asked as she took Lucas hand. Lucas nodded enthusiastically and Brooke just laughed at him as she led him outside.

* * *

Brooke was struggling enough to stay standing that making unlocking the door seem like the hardest task she could come by. She almost had to stifle a laugh at the fact that she couldn't get her keys into the door with the way that Lucas was making her feel. It had been far too long since they had last been together like this; they were both more than excited and anxious to get inside before things went too far in the hallway.

With his lips sucking on her neck and his arms snaked around her waist from behind, her knees were weak and her breath was heavy. Finally she was able to see straight long enough for her to unlock the door and allow them to stumble into the dark apartment.

Lucas kicked the door closed before he and Brooke began to stumble towards her bedroom, their lips never parting. They both had their shoes and jacket's off and Lucas' shirt halfway unbuttoned before they made it halfway to her bedroom. Brooke was expertly yet frantically trying to undo the rest of the buttons on his dress shirt. Lucas was gently tugging at the fabric of Brooke's dress, itching to take it off. As soon as Brooke had slid his shirt off of his shoulders, Lucas released his firm grip on her waist to slide the shirt off of his arms, leaving it somewhere on the floor behind him as he pressed her against the wall outside of her bedroom door. He wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her away from the wall so that he could quickly reach the zipper on the back of her strapless dress. As he slowly unzipped the dress and slipped it off of her, Lucas moved his lips to her neck; finding the perfect spot and sucking lightly causing a low moan to escape from Brooke's lips.

Just like it had happened two months ago, the moment that their naked skin came together, they froze. They had felt it again; that fantastic shiver that was sent down their spines; the perfect feeling of being with each other.

They stood pressed up against each other against the wall for a minute in silence; their already ragged breathing was the only sound in the apartment as they stared deeply into each other's eyes, seeing desire and love mixing together.

Lucas place a cupped her cheek with one hand and let his other run through her hair as he slowly leaned down and captured her lips gently with his own. Their movements slowed considerably so that they could experience each other fully for the first time in years.

Lucas moved his hands to Brooke's waist and lifted her up slightly so that she could wrap her legs tightly around her waist. Lucas trailed strong kisses down her neck and collarbone as he walked them both into the bedroom. By the time Lucas place Brooke down on the bed, he had already unhooked her bra and she had already undone his buckle and unzipped his pants. Both pieces of clothing fell to the floor as Lucas placed her gently down.

Lucas paused for a second and pulled back so that he was sitting up, straddling Brooke with his knees on either side of her hips.

"What is it?" Brooke asked concerned yet still smiling.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Lucas told her as he took in the sight of Brooke before him, almost astonished that Brooke seemed to be more beautiful every time he was with her.

"Yeah?" Brooke asked playfully as she traced her fingers just above his low hanging boxers, causing Lucas to take and a sharp breath. "So are you," Brooke whispered before she pulled on the top of his boxers. Lucas fell forward but stopped himself by propping himself up by his arms both sides of Brooke's petit frame. Lucas was barely able to support himself as Brooke lifted her hips and ground them into his. Brooke smiled slightly into Lucas' lips as she felt his hardness. Lucas let out a deep groan and pushed himself back down on top of her, lowering his head to kiss down her chest and take her breasts into his mouth.

"Too…much…clothing," Brooke said between shaky breaths as she tugged at Lucas' boxers. Even though they were barely wearing anything, they both agreed that it was too much. Lucas lifted his hips slightly so that Brooke could begin to push them down. Lucas kicked them off the rest of the way and then lowed himself down Brooke's body, planting kisses and letting his tongue roll over the soft skin of her flat stomach. Lucas slowly, almost teasingly, pulled Brooke's black lace panties down her legs. Once he had fully discarded the last item that separated them, he began to work his way back up her body, placing wet kisses on the inside of her legs as he made his way back up. He slowed when he got to the higher part of her thighs. He gently separated her legs and began to tease her already wet center with his tongue.

"Lucassss," Brooke moaned. Lucas looked up to see Brooke with her eyes closed tight as her hands ran through his soft blond hair. Lucas continued working her center gently yet firmly, causing her body to shudder slightly in response. Brooke was nearing her peak, but surprised Lucas as she hooked her arms under his to pull him back up to her.

"Not that way," Brooke whispered and surprised Lucas once again as she flipped them on the bed, rolling over so that she was now on top of Lucas. She began a tantalizing trail of kisses towards his chest, stopping briefly to bite lightly at one of his nipples, smiling as she heard the moan that escaped his lips.

When he felt her hand purposely graze his hard member, he flipped them back over so that he was on top of Brooke again. He knew the wonders Brooke could do to him, but it had been so long since they had been together that Lucas feared that he would end the 'party' too soon. Lucas positioned himself steadily over Brooke and she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. Lucas kissed her softly then pulled away to be able to look at her and make sure that she was ready.

"Please Lucas, I need you in—"she didn't even have to finish her sentence; Lucas knew what she was saying and he pressed into her, both gasping at his entrance. Lucas held still for a moment so that they could both savor and get used to the feeling of him being inside her again. Brooke had always told him that he was very well endowed, and she had almost forgot how well until he entered her again after so long.

Brooke shifted her hips slightly and Lucas took that as his cue to begin moving as well. Both were had shallow shaky breaths as Lucas began thrusting slowly. Brooke moved her hands up to his shoulder blades and pulled him closer, pressing their chests together and bringing her lips back to his. Brooke pressed her hips up into his in an attempt to tell him to quicken his movement which he gladly did. They moaned into each other's mouths as Lucas' thrusting pace became faster and harder.

Lucas felt the clear signs of Brooke's orgasm approaching. First she tightened her legs around him, bringing him deeper inside of her. Then her began to feel her shake under him. Finally he felt her inner muscles clench around him as she cried out his name. The tight muscles around him brought Lucas' own climax; he trust hard and deep into her once more as he spilled into her, calling her name in intense pleasure.

They stayed still for a few minutes, trying to steady their breathing and come down from the peaks they had hit together. Slowly Brooke let her legs fall from around Lucas' waist and he pulled out of her. He rolled over but never released her from his arms as he pulled her close to him. They lay silently together for a few more minutes with their legs tangled together under the sheets and foreheads pressed against each other.

Lucas leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "God I love you so much," he whispered.

"I love you too," Brooke happily responded with a kiss of her own.

"Let's stay like this forever," Lucas said as he tightened his hold on her.

Brooke nodded and smiled as they both closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please tell me what you honestly think of this chapter. If you have any suggestions (about the plot or writing style) please tell me! What you all think means a lot to me. **

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	15. Chapter 15

**Here's chapter 15!**

**Hi again! So I'm not exactly sure about how many chapters there are going to be in this fic, but i can tell you now that there are going to be at least 3 more while they're at Duke. **

**Thanks to everyone who left amazing reviews!!!!! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Lucas stood happily at Brooke's counter the next morning wearing only his boxers as he began mixing pancake batter for breakfast. He was giddily humming to himself as, unbeknownst to him, Rachel stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching him.

"Well, well Scott," Rachel smirked as Lucas jumped back two feet with the whisk still in his hand causing him to splatter batter all over his bare chest.

"Jesus Rachel, how did you get in here?" Lucas asked, trying to catch his breath.

"Um, I have a key," Rachel said as if it was obvious.

"Let me rephrase that, _why_ are you here?" Lucas asked.

"To drop off some things for me," Brooke said happily as she entered the kitchen.

Lucas' breath caught in his throat momentarily as he looked at Brooke. Her hair was still wet from the shower they just took together, and all she was wearing was Lucas' dress shirt. Lucas always thought that it was amazing how Brooke looked sexy no matter what she was wearing or what time of day it was.

"Hi!" Brooke said cheerily as she chuckled at Lucas' obvious thoughts. She went over to him and kissed him quickly before wiping some of the batter off of him with her pinky to taste it. "Yummy," Brooke grinned.

"I'm glad you like it, but if you don't mind, I think I'm going to get back to _cooking_ it now," he grinned back.

"If you insist," Brooke shrugged. "Rach and I have to just go over something quickly, but it'll just take two minutes."

"Okay," Lucas nodded before kissing again.

Brooke practically skipped out of the kitchen with Rachel as Lucas went back to making breakfast.

* * *

"Spill," Rachel demanded as they moved into Brooke's home office. "And would you mind putting on some pants?"

"Why? It's not like they're going to stay on for long after you leave," Brooke said, unable to wipe the grin off of her face.

"Okay, now you really have to spill. I mean clearly you two did the dirty deed last night, but I don't think I've ever seen you like….this," Rachel shook her head at Brooke.

"I'm pretty sure you can guess what happened here last night," Brooke said pointedly. "What happened with you? How was the party?" Brooke asked as she went through a few papers that Rachel brought over for her.

"It was great. It was the usual. You know the drill."

"Anything special happen?"

"No," Rachel sighed as she sat down. "A bunch of people were asking for you since it's the first after party you've ever missed, but I politely told them you were at home having hot passionate sex with your boyfriend."

"You did not!" Brooke gaped at Rachel

"Maybe, maybe not." Rachel said shrugging it off. "I won't tell until you give me details! Now!"

"God you're immature," Brooke rolled her eyes as she leaned back on the edge of her desk.

"I don't really care, just tell me…was it good? I mean did he live up to your expectations after all of this time?" Rachel asked they way she used to when they were in high school.

"Even better," Brooke smiled brightly. "Both last night and this morning," she added.

"Well Brookie, I'm proud of you. It seems you haven't lost your touch."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever," Rachel rolled her eyes. "So I guess you're actually leaving for a week?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, it's gonna be weird being away from the office, but I can't wait to get down there with Lucas."

"I'm sorry did you say go down on Lucas?" Rachel asked raising an eyebrow.

"Ha-ha," Brooke said sarcastically. "Now what did you really say to people last night?"  
"That you were having hot passionate sex with your boyfriend."

"Rachel!" Brooke yelled. "Please tell me you're still joking!"

"Relax, I didn't tell…._that_ many people that."

"Oh my god," Brooke muttered as she buried her face in her hands. "I'm going to pray that you're screwing with me, and I'm going to try desperately to forget this because I'm supposed to be on vacation right now."

"Yeah right. You can't take a vacation and you know it," Rachel scoffed. "So you'll be out of the office and in less contact, but if you could take a _real_ vacation, you would have me bringing these papers over."

Brooke just shook her head, unable to really protest because she knew that as much as she wanted to get away and spend some time with Lucas, she could never leave her work totally behind. She had become a bit of a workaholic over the past few years; it was going to be hard not being in touch all the time.

"Alright," Rachel said after a moment of silence between the two. "I'm going. Stay in touch and don't do anything _too_ stupid while you're gone, okay?" Rachel said to Brooke as if she was a little kid.

Brooke rolled her eyes and pulled Rachel in for a hug. "I'll miss you."

"Yeah, I'll miss you too, but you're not going to be gone for long, so don't start the water works on me."

Brooke laughed and agreed as she led Rachel to the door.

"Bye Lucas!" Rachel called.

"Bye Rachel" They heard a muffled voice call back.

"So…have fun?" Rachel offered.

Brooke smiled and nodded. "Thanks," She said as she hugged Rachel one last time.

Brooke closed the door behind Rachel and headed back into the kitchen where she found Lucas standing over the stove flipping pancakes. She walked over and slid her arms around his waist from behind, planting a soft kiss on one of his shoulder blades.

"Hi," Lucas smiled as she pressed her forehead into his back.

"Hi," she pouted.

Lucas flipped the pancakes off of the stove and onto a plate before her turned around and brought Brooke into a comforting hug.

"You miss Rachel already, don't you?" Lucas asked and felt Brooke nod against his chest. "I'm sorry, Pretty Girl," He whispered as he rubbed a hand up and down her back.

"Thanks," Brooke said softly as she pulled back. "It's just that I haven't spent this much time away from Rachel, let alone the office, in a really long time. It's a little weird, you know? I mean I'm so happy that I'm spending the time with you, and I would take a month off if it meant that I got to spend that time with you, but that doesn't mean that it's hard to be away from something that's been my life for so long."

"I'm sorry, Brooke," Lucas said, knowing how hard it is to be away from a part of your life that you love. When he had to give up basketball, even if it was only for a short while, he felt incomplete because something that had been so important to him; something that was always present in his daily life, was hard to suddenly give up.

"Don't be," Brooke said, now smiling. "I couldn't be happier than when I'm with you. Besides, it's not like I'm going to stop working completely over the next week."

"I know, but—"

"No buts, no feeling bad, nothing like that. I'm happy," Said the last part slowly and reassuringly. "I am."

Lucas smiled softly and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," Brooke hugged him tighter. "But!" She said as she pulled away again. "We can continue this cute little kodak moment later, right now I want pancakes!"

"Coming right up!" Lucas said enthusiastically as he prepared two plates for their breakfast.

* * *

"Are we almost there yet?" Brooke asked impatiently.

"Huh?" Lucas looked up from his book and over to Brooke who was starting to get restless.

"Are we al—"

_"Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. We should be arriving in roughly 20 minutes." _

"Well there you go," Lucas said, laughing a little at the perfect timing of the flight attendant.

"Whatever," Brooke huffed.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked after putting his book away. He turned to Brooke to see if he could read her expression.

"I'm bored," Brooke complained and laughed at the same time, realizing how childish she sounded.

"Didn't you bring like a dozen magazines with you?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, and I read five of them, but I have to pace myself or else I'll run out before the end of the week when the next issues come out."

"Ah, I see. There's a method," Lucas asked, trying not to laugh.

"There is!" Brooke said as she playfully hit him after seeing him begin to laugh. "Besides, I couldn't concentrate."

"Why not?" Lucas asked.

"Because I'm nervous," Brooke mumbled.

"About what? Landing?"

"No! I fly all the time!" Brooke quickly defended herself. It was true; she was often flying to LA, Paris, Milan, or other exotic locations for events.

"So then what are you nervous about?" Lucas asked, genuinely concerned.

"I want your friends to like me," Brooke mumbled a little embarrassed.

"Oh Brooke," Lucas laughed a little.

"It's not funny!"  
"Yes it is! It is because there is no way that they couldn't like you. You're Brooke Davis!"

"So? They could still hate me."

"First of all, they won't. They're going to love you. In fact, I'm sure they already do for the sheer fact that I was caught in bed with you. Second, even if they didn't, they will, but even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter to me. I've got you. That's all that matters."

Brooke smiled at his words. "Well what can I say to that?"

"That you love me?"

"You already know I do. I love you, Lucas Scott."

"I love you too, Brooke Davis," Lucas said as he rubbed their noses together. "And you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm excited for everyone to meet you."

"Yeah?"

"I am. I know everyone's going to love you. Besides, the guys on the team that I live with won't leave me alone about you. They're very interested in our relationship," Lucas chuckled a little.

"Oh really?"

"Oh yeah," Lucas said, shuddering at the way they joke about him.

"Awww Broody, do they tease you?"

"Maybe," Lucas mumbled quietly.

"Awww," Brooke cooed as she rubbed his cheek with her hand. "Well that's okay," she whispered, her voice changing to her low raspy seductive tone. "Because now we can really give them something to talk about," Brooke suggested, cocking an eyebrow.

Lucas sighed. "See now I'm getting impatient! When are we going to land?!" Lucas questioned as he pouted, suddenly anxious to get off the plane and back to his house.

"Be patient, gosh Lucas," Brooke shook her head at him and they laughed at how quickly they changed positions.

* * *

After they landed and got their bags – a process which included a ten minute explanation to Lucas about why Brooke had so many bags – they found Lucas' car outside and drove back to Lucas' house which was just off of campus.

"So this is it, huh?" Brooke asked as they parked outside the house.

"This is it," Lucas smiled, happy to be home. He, Marcus and Brett had been sharing houses since sophomore year, and this year Adam, a junior joined them. Nathan and Haley shared an apartment a few minutes away.

"This is nice for 4 college guys," Brooke commented as they got out.

"Yeah, the place is great. It's near campus, the gym, and town. Plus, the lease is really cheap because the landlady has a thing for basketball players," Lucas laughed, remembering how he and the guys did a little flirting to get the house for a cheaper price.

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "Reallly?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's definitely going down as one of the more embarrassing moments of college."

"God, I can only imagine what you said," Brooke smirked.

"Please let me just block it from my memory," Lucas laughed as he put an arm around Brooke's waist and pulled her close as they walked up to the house.

"What about my stuff?" Brooke asked.

"I'll get it later, besides, I want you to meet everyone. I think they have a pool going on whether or not you'd actually come down her with me."

"And why is that?" Brooke laughed.

"They like to tease me," Lucas sighed.

"That's because it's just so easy."

"Hey! Watch it, unless you want stay with Nathan and Haley this week," Lucas warned.

"As much as a love them, staying with the old married ones? No thanks," Brooke shook her head.

"Tell me about it," Lucas muttered.

"You stay with them?"  
"Only when the parties these guys throw get too crazy. They let me crash on the couch in their place."

"You throwing any parties this week?" Brooke asked curiously.

"As a matter of fact, we are."

"When?" Brooke questioned, excited for the party.

"Friday night after everyone's last class, and from what I've heard, the guys are going all out with this one."

"Ohhh exciting!" Brooke smiled and clapped her hands.

"Come on," Lucas said as he unlocked the door. "Welcome!" he said happily as they entered the house. Lucas dropped his overnight bag at the door and let out a large deep breath. "Guys?!"

"Yeah? Luke's that you?" they could hear a few muffled voices call back followed by footsteps. "Hey man!" they all greeted him.

"Hey," Lucas greeted them with the guy-hug.

"So you must be Brooke," Marcus smiled slyly.

"You must be about to make some money off of me," Brooke smiled back.

"Damn right, pay up man," He turned to Brett.

"Shit," Brett muttered under his breath as he produced a twenty from his back pocket.

"Thank you," Marcus sing-songed.

"Sorry about them, I'm Adam," Adam extended his hand for Brooke.

"Nice to meet you Adam," Brooke smiled as she shook his hand. Besides Lucas, Adam was the only one of the guys that didn't look like the classic basketball player. He wore Polo shirts and was clean shaven as opposed to laid back basketball shorts and tee shirts. Brooke thought that he and Lucas were probably the ones that kept the other two in line.

"Oh, right, I'm Brett," he laughed and held his hand out for her too, as did Marcus after him.

"Hey guys!" they all heard a voice from behind them. Turning around, they saw that Nathan and Haley stood in the doorway.

"Haley!" Brooke squealed as the two girls hugged tightly. "God it's good to see you."

"It's been way too long," Haley said of the six weeks. Usually time went by quickly between their visits, but with school work for the end of the year and the fashion show, neither had much time to talk as much as they were used to.

"Hey Nate," Brooke greeted Nathan with a hug of his own.

"Good to see you, Davis," Nathan smiled. Not only was he happy to see one of his oldest friends again, but he knew that there would definitely be some drama and partying with Brooke Davis in town.

"So what are you guys doing tonight?" Marcus asked them.

"We're going out for a quick dinner in town, and then probably back here. What about you guys?" Lucas asked.

"Who knows," Brett shrugged.

"Probably out with some of the guys for pizza or something. We all have class tomorrow, so it should be a fun night!" Marcus said sarcastically.

"Oh god, don't remind me," Nathan groaned at the idea.

"Just one more week, babe," Haley consoled him. She of course was doing very well and didn't feel the pressure at all because she was more than prepared for her finals. The rest of them, however, were not. They weren't expected to be though because of all of the traveling they did for basketball. That's why they all had the week between classes and finals to study; so that everyone could be as prepared as Haley. She is tutor girl after all.

"Yeah, whatever," Nathan muttered. "So!" he changed to a more upbeat tone. "Shall we?"

"Oh absolutely, I'm starved," Lucas grinned. "See you guys later!"

"Bye!" They all called as they headed back to the TV room.

"Sorry we're leaving so soon," Lucas said to Brooke as they walked hand in hand to Nathan and Haley's car.

"Don't worry about it. I'm hungry too," Brooke smiled, just happy to be with Lucas.

"Yeah well you barely got inside; I just didn't expect NATHAN AND HALEY to come so soon," he said, shouting their names so that they could hear him complaining.

"Oh shut up and get in," Nathan shot back.

"Don't worry Broody," Brooke smiled mischievously. "We'll have plenty of time for the bedroom later."

* * *

Later that night, Brooke and Lucas lay curled up on the couch together; the sounds of 'Friends' and 'Will and Grace' playing on the TV was the only background noise in the otherwise quiet house. The guys were still out and Nathan and Haley had gone home a few minutes before, leaving Brooke and Lucas alone in the house after an hour of talking and Haley helping Brooke unpack.

They were too tired to move. It had only been one day, but to them it had felt like three. Between New York, traveling, and dinner that night, they were exhausted.

"Luke?" Brooke whispered quietly thinking that he might be asleep. The episode of Friends she was watching had just ended and it was now 11:30. She turned of the TV and turned slightly so that she could look at Lucas from her place in his arms.

"Yeah?" Lucas asked, scrunching his eyes tightly for a moment and then opening them again in hopes to wake himself up a little.

"Tired?" Brooke asked.

"Aren't you?"

"Exhausted," Brooke sighed. "You know what I think?"

"What?"

"That we should just stay inside every night; together; just like this."

"You sure?" Lucas asked. Brooke was always the one who wanted to go out and do things, but Lucas was content to just have her in his arms.

"Yeah," Brooke said, and as if she was reading his mind, she continued. "There's no place that I'd rather be than right here."

Lucas sighed and smiled in pure happiness. "Me too," he whispered.

"Question?"

"Yeah?"

"What are your plans this week?" Brooke asked. "Like what's your schedule?"

"Oh uh," Lucas closed his eyes and tried to remember what his life at college was really like; a task that seemed nearly impossible with Brooke in his arms. "It's Sunday now," Lucas thought out loud. "As a senior I only have class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I go for morning jogs those mornings because I don't have any morning classes, so I kind of make that my 'active' day. Then Tuesday and Thursday I usually get most of my work done, but I don't have too much this week so I can show you around if you'd like. Then Friday night we have the big party, Saturday we can do whatever we want and then Sunday…"

"I leave," Brooke said sadly, realizing that the week was going to go by much faster than she would like. "Right, so I can get my own work done while you're at classes or doing work of your own, and the rest we can play by ear," Brooke said contentedly as she realized it was going to be a much needed laid back week.

"Two more things," Lucas said. "First, do you want to come running with me in the mornings?"

Brooke nodded thankfully. She would need someone else to push her to work out while she was away. In New York it was always a way to escape work or thinking about Lucas or whatever else was bothering her. Brooke always loved to work out and stay in shape, so she'd always push herself by running in the park or going to a gym, but she was looking forward to a nice relaxing run with Lucas.

"And the second thing is about Friday," Lucas said.

"What about it?"

"I have a class that I want you to come to."

"Class?" Brooke asked skeptically.

"Yeah. It's a long story that I'll explain before the class, but I really want you to come."

Brooke still kept a look that said 'are you serious?' There was a reason why Brooke was always skipping classes in high school.

"Please, Brooke?" Lucas pleaded. "It's a psychology class, I think you'll like it. Besides, it's not like I'm asking you to come to my two hour English Lit class tomorrow."

Brooke sighed. "Fine."

"Thank you," Lucas said sincerely, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"I can't believe I'm going to class," Brooke muttered.

"You'll like it…trust me," Lucas said suspiciously.

Brooke eyed him, but let it go figuring she'd find out soon enough.

"Yeah, whatever," Brooke feigned annoyance. She was actually interested and flattered that Lucas wanted her to come with him. "Let's go upstairs, I'm exhausted."

Lucas closed his eyes and sighed happily just thinking about getting back to his bed and going to sleep.

"Come on, Broody, sleep time," Brooke said as she pulled an exhausted Lucas off of the couch and upstairs.

He led them to his bedroom at the end of the hall just in time for them to both collapse on the bed together.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**


	16. Chapter 16

**Here's chapter 16!**

**Hi again! I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update, but school was pretty crazy this week. You can thank my history teacher (who made us memorize the gettysburg address) and my chem teacher (who gave us an unbelievable amount of work) for the lack of updates. To make up for it, i made this chapter really long, so i hope that it's worth it. It's kind of a bridge chapter until the next one, but i still thought that it has some important things in it.**

**I've noticed that a lot of stories haven't been updated much this week. I'm not sure why, but everyone seems to be really busy. I'll do my best to update more often this coming week, but i cant make any promises.**

**Also, the season premiere and the fast forward special of OTH are free on itunes!!!!!!!!!!**

**Thanks to everyone who left amazing reviews!!!!! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Brooke groaned and rolled over, digging her head deeper into the pillow as she felt Lucas beginning to sit up be hind her.

"What…the hell…is that?" Brooke asked slowly.

"It's my alarm, 8:30, time to get up," Lucas said as he sat up all the way.

"Uggghhh!" Brooke groaned into the pillow.

"Broooooke," Lucas said slyly as she felt his hands beginning to creep towards her sides.

"No!" Brooke screamed before he could begin tickling her. "I'm up!" she said forcefully as she sat up. "I'm up," she repeated softly and more tiredly.

Lucas laughed a little and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I'm gonna grab a power bar r something, do you think you could be ready to go in 15 minutes?" Lucas asked as he got out of bed.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Lucas said laughing a little; he knew she wouldn't like the idea of 15 minutes.

"Fine," Brooke sighed and fell backwards back onto the bed. "Bring me something too!" she called to Lucas as he left the room.

* * *

Forty minutes later they were finishing up their 20 minute jog, trying to push themselves the last block until they arrived back at Lucas' house.

When they finally made it back to the small lawn in front of the house, Lucas stood hunched over with his hands on his knees and Brooke had her hands on her hips, slightly bent over as well.

"Damn you're in shape," Lucas said between breaths. He was by no means out of shape, but he was still tired from the pace they went at.

"I better be for the shit I went through with Mike," Brooke laughed as she tried to catch her breath.

"Mike?" Lucas said as he slowly allowed himself to fall to his knees and then roll onto his back.

"Personal trainer."

"Oh," Lucas rolled his eyes. "Of course."

"Shut up," Brooke laughed as she laid down next to him, looking up at the clear May Morning. "He's not even my trainer anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because a few months ago Rachel just _had_ to sleep with him, so of course things got a little messy after that."

"I'm not surprised," Lucas laughed. "Isn't Rachel dating David?"

"Oh, this is a little longer than a few months I guess. This is pre-David."

"Oh….you didn't sleep with him, right?" Lucas asked; he knew Brooke didn't, but for some reason he had to ask.

Brooke laughed; she was almost offended; almost. She would have been if he was actually serious, but Brooke knew that he was asking just to ask, not because he really thought that she slept with him.

"No, no didn't," Brooke reassured him. "Why? Jealous?" Brooke asked as she propped herself up on her elbows so that she could look at Lucas.

"Nope," Lucas shook his head like a kid. "I've got you now," he grinned.

"That you do," Brooke grinned back suggestively as she repositioned herself so she was straddling Lucas. "I'm all yours," she whispered as she leaned down to kiss him.

As they deepened the kiss, they quickly forgot that they were still outside and in plain view if anyone walked by.

"Whoaaaa!" They heard a voice call as the door swung open, causing them to break their kiss. "It is_way_ too early to be seeing that," Marcus yelled as he covered his eyes in mock disgust.

"Seriously man, you have a bedroom for a reason," Brett added.

"Yes, but it's nicer out here," Brooke pointed out.

Neither said anything.

"It sucks that she's right," Brett said.

"Yeah," Marcus agreed. "Anyway, we gotta get to class so we'll see you later or something."

"Yeah man," Lucas waved, not bothering to get up; he was too comfortable with Brooke still on top of him. "Hey do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, like 9:30. When's you're first class?" Marcus asked.

"11."

"With Collins?"

"Yeah."

"Good luck!"

"Hah, thanks," Lucas said as he and Brooke waived one last goodbye.

"Who's Collins?" Brooke asked as she attempted to get off of him. She couldn't though because his hands held her firmly in place.

"First of all, don't even think about moving. I like having you right here," Lucas smirked. "Second, Collins is the professor who gave me that really long paper that's due today."

"And did you finish?"

"Yes I did."

"And did you do well."

"Yes mom."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "When do you have to leave anyway?"

"Um, I should start getting ready in like 15 minutes, tops, why?"

"Just wanted to know when you're going to be leaving me. When are you coming back?"

"Uh, probably around 2:30," Lucas said as he ran a hand through his hair. "This is my day with two classes, sorry."

"Oh it's no big deal," Brooke shrugged it off. "I'll just be here doing whatever I want while you're stuck in boring classes on a beautiful day like this."

"Great rub it in," Lucas said as he began to tickle Brooke, finally causing her to roll off of him and onto the ground next to him.

"Stop!" Brooke screamed during fits of laughter. "Please," she begged.

"Okay, I'm done," Lucas smiled as he released her from his hands.

"What was that for?!" Brooke asked as she tried to regain her composure.

"That was for reminding me that I have to sit in class while you're still _here_."

Brooke smiled and shook her head as she laid back down next to Lucas.

"Hey Brooke?" Lucas asked after a minute of silence as they stared up at the cloudless sky.

"Yeah?"

"Do you regret it? Not going to college, I mean," Lucas asked softly, afraid of bringing up a sensitive subject. Lucas sat up and turned to face Brooke. For a moment he forgot the seriousness of his question and focused on the beauty in front of him; Brooke was wearing black spandex and a tight black tank top that revealed just enough. There was a thin layer of sweat over her arms and chest that made her shine in the sunlight. Brooke laughed and even blushed a little under his lustful stare.

"Luke," Brooke said as she propped herself up on her elbows.

"Yeah?" Lucas snapped his head back up to look her in the eye. When he saw the smirk on her face and her eye brow kinked up, he knew he had been caught and he too blushed again. "Sorry," he mumbled, "but you're beautiful."

Brooke smiled brightly, dimples and all at his sincere compliment.

"You were saying…" Brooke brought his attention back to the subject at hand.

"Right," Lucas shook his head of other thoughts and tried to focus on what he had asked her and not her body. "Do you regret it?"

Brooke took a deep breath but remained silent, still staring up at the sky as she contemplated how to answer.

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes briefly before propping herself up on her elbows to get a better look at Lucas who was sitting with his legs bent in front of him and his arms resting around them. He was watching her carefully- something Brooke was quick to notice- trying to see if he could read her expression or her thoughts, but he couldn't; she was too deep in her own thoughts to be read by someone else.

Finally, Brooke found the words. She sat up slowly, turning to face Lucas and sitting cross legged before him, her hands fidgeting nervously in her lap as if she was admitting things that she wasn't supposed to feel. "I run Clothes over Bros. I've learned how to take control of my life. I've succeeded beyond what I ever thought I would be able to do. There is no question in my mind about regretting that," Brooke started, pausing between each sentence. "I have accomplished so much and it took hard work it took passion and dedication and….and if I had to do it all over again I would still be Brooke Davis, designer; not Brooke Davis, college student."

Lucas nodded. Who would regret everything she had? But that wasn't his question.

"But that doesn't mean that I haven't thought about it," Brooke confessed quietly. "That doesn't mean that I haven't collapsed on my bed some nights after a seemingly never ending day and wondered what it would be like if I had done the normal thing; if I had chosen to be a kid for four more amazing years and go to college with you and Nathan and Haley. I never got that legendary college experience."

Again Lucas nodded, realizing as she spoke that she was now letting something out that she had kept in for far too long.

As Brooke continued, she found it increasingly harder to look him in the eye; instead, she had a far away look in her eyes as she spoke.

"There would be nights where I would think about you and what you were doing at that exact moment. Would you be working furiously on a paper that was due the next day, or would you be playing basketball, or out partying, or trying to cram in a few extra minutes of sleep…or if maybe you were thinking about me just the way I was thinking about you," Brooke said, feeling a weight she didn't know about being lifted off of her chest as she spoke.

"If I could do it all over again I would do it exactly the same way," Brooke continued with more conviction. "I would do it that way because right now, sitting here with you, I have everything I need; everything I want. I have my clothes, and my friends, and most of all, I have you," Brooke said now looking him in the eye again, able to see the soft and understanding smile on his face. "If I had the chance to make my decision again I would make the same one and I would know that it was the right one, even if that meant that every once in a while I would ask myself 'what if?' I would rather have my 'what ifs' about college than my 'what ifs' about missing my chance to make my dream come true."

Lucas scooted closer to Brooke and reached out to take her hands which were still moving nervously in her lap. He held her smaller ones in his strong ones, hoping that it was enough of a response.

It was. Brooke knew that he wouldn't be able to answer to something like she had just told him because it was a lot. The way that he was still close to her after she had told him that she would have spent the four years away all over again was enough for her. The comfort that radiated through his smile and understanding eyes was enough.

"So does that answer your question?" Brooke asked with a bit of sarcasm.

Lucas laughed a little. "Yeah, it definitely does."

"Good," Brooke said as she shook the sadness and seriousness away from her. "Now enough with your broody talks, let's do something more fun."

"Like what?"

"Liiiiike make breakfast and get you ready for class," Brooke said as if it was obvious.

Lucas threw his head back in disappointment. "And here I thought we could just stay out here all day."

Brooke shook her head. "Nope, not today at least," Brooke said as she stood. She laughed as she had to help a still very tired Lucas up and inside.

* * *

"Hello?!" Nathan called as he walked into the house. "Brooke!? Anyone home?!"

"Nathan?" Brooke questioned as she emerged from Lucas' room and appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Hey," Nathan smiled and collapsed on the couch. Brooke rolled her eyes and met him downstairs.

"What are you doing here?" Brooke asked as she sat on the other side of the couch, leaning on the armrest to face him. "It's only 11:45."

"I my first class was moved up an hour an a half, so I have a little over an hour until my next one. I was going to go to the gym, but I figured I'd stop by and see how you're doing. Unless you don't want me here…."

Brooke laughed at Nathan's attempt to feign offence.

"No, I'm happy you came by," she smiled. "I just wasn't expecting you."

"Yeah, I tend to surprise a lot of people," Nathan grinned cockily.

Brooke rolled her eyes. As much as he had grown over the past 6 years, he was still Nathan Scott.

"What have you been doing?" Nathan asked as he adjusted his position on the couch.

"Conference call and a few sketches."

"Sounds riveting,"

"Why did you come here again?"

Nathan smirked. "To annoy you."

"I'd ask if you were serious, but you've already annoyed me so clearly you are."

"Yeah, but I also just wanted to talk."

"Talk?" Brooke asked skeptically.

"Yeah. What? Is it a little too sensitive for you?"

"No, no, I'm just…."

"Surprised?"

Brooke laughed and nodded.

"I told you," Nathan pointed out. "I surprise people."

"Apparently. Now what is it that you want to talk about?"

"Oh no, this isn't about me," Nathan shook his head. "I have enough going on right now, I'm here to talk about your issues so I can forget about mine."

Brooke eyed him; she would definitely have to press him for information later, but for now she was fine with letting it go.

"And what issues do I have now?" Brooke asked curiously.

"Well certainly less than the last time we spoke!"

"I guess," Brooke shrugged.

"So Haley told me that you're worried about what happens after graduation."

"I told her not to say anything to you!"

"Don't worry, I kinda coaxed it out of her, besides I'm not going to go to Lucas or anything and if it was something really private, I doubt she would have told me."

"Whatever," Brooke muttered.

"But my guess is that you've already talked to Lucas about this a lot."

"Yeah," Brooke sighed. "It doesn't change the fact that I'm worried about what happens when he gets drafted across the country."

"You don't know that he will."

"But there's a huge possibility that he will!" Brooke fought back. "My life is in New York and I can't leave that. You and Hales, you guys can go where ever you want _together_. What if Lucas gets drafted to some random team in the middle of the country? What are we supposed to do then?" Brooke asked, slightly annoyed that Nathan just _had_ to bring up this subject _again_.

"Okay, okay," Nathan held his hands up in surrender. "I get why you're scared, but you and Lucas will be fine no matter what. I know you may not completely believe me. But I know you know will be."

"Can we talk about something else?" Brooke asked after taking a moment to consider what he told her.

"Sure. What else is on you're mind?"

"What class does Lucas have on Friday?" Brooke asked curiously.

"Uh, some writing class at 3, why?" Nathan asked.

Brooke furrowed her brow in confused. Why would he want to take her to a writing class?

"Oh!" Nathan said as he realized something. "He has the psych thing at 11 too."

"What thing?"

"He took a freshman psychology course. The professor is famous for doing this."

"Doing what?"

"He asks all of his freshman classes to meet on the last day of their senior year to talk about some stuff. I don't really know; I didn't take the class."

"Oh," Brooke was a little more interested now. Psych sounded a little more interesting, but she still didn't know why he wanted her to go with him.

"Why?"

"He wants to take me to a class on Friday, the psychology one I'm assuming."

"Hmmmm," Nathan thought, trying to figure out why. He made a mental note to ask Lucas about it later. "Anyway! New subject!"

"What do you want to discuss now?"

"Uh, how's work?" Nathan offered.

"It's nice to be away. Everything's good at the moment, but that could all change really quickly, hence the blackberry where ever I go," Brooke said motioning to her blackberry on the table near them.

Nathan nodded.

"Enough about me though," Brooke said with a slightly suspicious tone. "What's going on with you?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Brooke pushed, refusing to let Nathan brush off whatever was going on.

"You know, finals, end of college, the usually stuff."

Brooke stared at him, clearly unsatisfied with the answer and Nathan mentally kicked himself from not being able to just shut his mouth.

"I'm just worried about some stuff in the future," Nathan admitted, trying to be as vague as possible.

"Like the draft?" Brooke asked, already knowing the answer. Nathan didn't really have to be nervous; he and Lucas were predicted to be picked in the first round. Nathan was even being predicted to be in the top 10 picks.

"Yeah, I mean that's pretty nerve wracking."

"But that's not what's really bothering you," Brooke said, slowly trying to pick apart Nathan and see what he was hiding.

"Not really. This is bigger. Much bigger," Nathan sighed. "I mean if it's true then I'm beyond ecstatic, but I'm still pretty terrified," Nathan said as stared up at the ceiling, refusing to meet Brooke's prying eyes.

"Oh…my…god," Brooke said slowly, her mouth hanging open in shock.

Nathan sat up and finally met Brooke's eyes, knowing that she just figured out what he was alluding to.

"Oh…my…god," Brooke repeated in shock for another minute before she snapped her attention back. "Do you know for sure?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Oh my god!" Brooke squealed with happiness. "Haley's pregnant!!!!!!"

"I'm aware," Nathan rolled his eyes and fell backwards onto the couch again.

"Nathan!" Brooke said sternly as she grabbed his tee shirt and pulled until he sat back up. "How long have you known?"

"Since late last night. We took a home test, but she has an appointment on Friday afternoon because those tests aren't that reliable."

"Trust me, I know," Brooke muttered.

"What?"

"Doesn't matter," Brooke waved it off. "So how is Haley taking it? I can't believe she didn't tell me!"

"Well I wasn't supposed to tell you! We were going to wait until after the doctor's appointment to tell you guys."

"Understandable," Brooke agreed. Although she wished Haley would have told her, she understood why she didn't.

"Although, she was meeting for lunch with Lucas, so if you guessed, I wouldn't be surprised if he did," Nathan shook his head and rubbed his face.

"I doubt it, Lucas can be pretty dense sometimes," Brooke laughed a little as she spoke.

"True," Nathan agreed.

"So you're excited?"  
"Yeah, I mean just the thought of having a family with Haley is amazing, but I'm terrified; I don't know the first thing about kids!"

"So? You learn, and don't even think about bringing up some crappy excuse about being afraid of turning into Dan."

"Well I am!"

"That's bull shit and you know it! If you don't want to be Dan, then you make a conscious decision not to be like him. A decision you have already made countless times without even realizing it. You will be nothing like him. You're going to be an amazing dad, Nathan Scott," Brooke said smiling brightly at the idea of Nathan and Haley being parents.

"God I hope so."

"You will be. I know it."

"Thanks Brooke."

"That's what I'm here for," she shrugged. "Now let's get something to eat before you have to go back to class."

"Oh yeah," Nathan jumped up from the couch and headed for the fridge.

"You coming Davis?" He called as he realized that Brooke was still sitting on the couch.

"Yeah," she called back as she grabbed her blackberry and followed him in, momentarily pausing to imagine Nathan as a father. It was going to be hard not saying anything for the next few days, but she was still so happy for them.

* * *

Brooke woke up the next morning almost exactly the way she did the morning before; by the shrill sound of something far too close to her head.

This time it wasn't the alarm clock; it was her cell phone that was ringing far too loudly for….9:37 in the morning Brooke thought as she squinted at the red lights of the alarm clock on Lucas' dresser.

"Hello?" She mumbled into the phone, realizing at the same time that Lucas wasn't in the bed next to her.

"Brooke?"

"….Jane?" Brooke asked into the phone; it took a moment for her to register the voice of her assistant so soon after waking up. "No it's okay…Look I can't do this right now, I'll call you back in a minute….yeah….bye," Brooke whispered as she hung up.

Brooke sat up in bed and looked around, confused as to why she was alone. She turned to look at Lucas' empty spot on the bed and saw a note on the pillow.

_"Pretty girl- the guys were making too much noise this morning so I got up to yell at them. You looked so peaceful and I didn't want them to wake you up. I figure since I'm wide awake now, I might as well make breakfast for everyone. Come downstairs when you get up. Love you, Lucas."_

Brooke smiled and quickly got out of bed to clean herself up and change into something that wasn't as revealing as her pajamas.

After brushing her teeth and hair and changing into casual shorts and a tank top Brooke began to leave but stopped at the door and ran back for her cell to call her assistant back.

After quickly dialing the familiar numbers, Brooke heard the phone ring once before Jane's voice came back onto the line.

* * *

"Dude, this smells amazing," Marcus said as he came into the kitchen where Lucas, Brett, and Adam were.

Lucas was standing at the stove making pancakes for everyone.

"Yeah, maybe we should have Brooke over more often cause the food is definitely better when she's here," Brett added.

"When was the last time any of us actually ate breakfast?" Adam asked.

"Too long ago," Lucas said shaking his head as he flipped a few pancakes onto some plates.

"Listen to me," they suddenly heard Brooke's voice as she came down the stairs. "Tell him he can pull out if he wants to, but tell him not to pull a stunt like this again, and if he doesn't care, remind him that I know about his extra-marital affair. In other words, I know that he's been fucking his assistant!"

The guys stood wide-eyed in the kitchen listening to Brooke finish up her conversation.

"I think I'm gonna go check on her," Lucas said after a moment of awkward silence, tossing the spatula to Adam on his way out.

"Good luck," they muttered.

---

"Brooke," Lucas said softly, approaching her just as she ended her call.

"Hey, morning," Brooke tried to act cheery.

"Everything okay?" Lucas asked tentatively.

"Yeah it's fine. Just this asshole photographer," Brooke said as she ran a hand through her hair. "Nothing I can't handle. It's not a big deal. Really."

"Are you sure, cause uh, you sounded pretty upset."

"I'm fine, just frustrated," Brooke insisted, feeling guilty that she was lying a little. Sure she was frustrated, but it was a big deal and she was having a hard time dealing with it and not being in the office.

Brooke's cell phone rang again before Lucas could say anything else.

"Hey Rach," Brooke said tiredly into the phone. "What's going on?" She asked, her voice rising a little. "What do you mean there's another problem?" she came close to shouting, turning on her heel and scampering back upstairs to Lucas' room where she had some of her work.

Lucas worried as he watched her go; standing downstairs for a minute before deciding to go after her and check on her.

Lucas quickly made his way up the stairs and to his room, quietly opening the door to find Brooke frantically looking through papers as she spoke angrily into the phone.

"Yeah…I found them…I'll send them in….," Brooke seemed even more frustrated as she spoke now. She only paused her frantic actions to curse under her breath when she dropped her pen under Lucas' desk. "No shit I'm pissed!!!...look let's just get this done and move on before more problems arise…yeah, I'll talk to you later…bye," Brooke breathed out as she hung up the phone.

"Brooke," Lucas said quietly, even more tentative than before.

"What Lucas?" Brooke asked annoyed as she organized a few more papers.

"Baby, you gotta calm down," Lucas said as he moved closer to her.

"Calm down?!" Brooke asked incredulously. "I can't calm down because I have WORK to do. I have to fix this stupid mess and I have to take care of this because this is my life, Lucas," Brooke said angrily. "I should have known that I couldn't leave the office like this," she muttered under her breath as she began to type on her blackberry.

"Brooke," Lucas tried again, after recovering from her slight outburst. "Do you want to come downstairs for breakfast?" Lucas asked, trying to take another approach.

"No." Clearly it wasn't the right one. "I can't go down there now because I have things I need to take care of, okay? Can you just leave so I can get some work done?" Brooke asked almost tiredly. She felt guilty for taking her anger out on Lucas, but this was her life and she couldn't disregard her work just because she wasn't in New York.

"Okay," Lucas said after a few long seconds of silence. "I'll be downstairs when you're….I'll just be downstairs," he said and left, closing the door softly behind him. Lucas sighed and walked back downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Everything okay, man?" Adam asked as a very dejected Lucas walked back into the kitchen.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. She's just got some work things to do," Lucas tried to play it off, even though he was still in a little shock about the way she reacted. "You guys can eat the food, just save the extra batter for me later."

"Thanks, Luke," Marcus said. "You sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine."

"Fine?" Brett asked skeptically. "That's like code red for the shit's hit the fan."

"Well then everything is fine," Lucas insisted. "But I'm sure it'll be okay soon. Just drop it, okay?" Lucas requested softly.

The guys nodded their heads and got back to eating and talking about sports.

Lucas walked out of the kitchen and out the door of the house. He sat down on the steps of the small porch and stared ahead. Whenever things got really bad, Lucas would take his Ipod and just sit outside on the front steps for as long as it took to figure out how to fix everything.

Now he just sat there, staring off into space as he worried about Brooke.

"Lucas?" a quiet and almost scared voice asked from behind him about five minutes later.

Lucas knew the voice, but he turned his head to look and make sure that she was real. Brooke stood behind him, blackberry still in hand, looking more than apologetic. She almost looked innocent; like a little girl who knew she just did something wrong.

"Can I sit?" She asked, her voice still quiet and nervous.

Lucas nodded and turned his head to stare into the distance again. Brooke sat down next to him on the highest step; a few more inches separating them than they would have liked.

"Is everything okay?" Lucas asked impassively.

Lucas saw Brooke nod out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm really sorry," Brooke whispered. "I didn't mean to take it out on you. I was just really happy to go downstairs and see you and then I got on the phone and everything kinda went down hill from there."

"What happened?" Lucas asked, still showing no emotion. He wasn't trying to be cold or punish her; he just didn't know how to ask her anything in fear of saying the wrong thing.

"Just some…complications with an upcoming photoshoot. I really don't want to go into it," Brooke said sighing.

Lucas nodded.

"Lucas?"

"Yeah?" He turned to face her.

"I'm really sorry for freaking out at you. It's just—It's just that it hit all at once, and I've never really been away from work like this. Hell, I haven't had a real vacation in years; every time I went away it was for work, not for me," Brooke admitted. "Anyway, I just—I guess I'm not used to being away, you know?"

Lucas nodded.

"Before we got back together, I lived and breathed for Clothes over Bros. I invested everything I had in it every single day, and now I'm not in the office, and I'm not being updated every twenty minutes, and I'm just….not there," Brooke tried to explain how hard it was to be away. "I'm not saying that I would rather be in New York right now, because I don't; this is where I want to be. It's just really hard for me."

"I know," Lucas said softly. "I guess I just wanted to take all the stress and stuff away from you."

"Thank you," Brooke whispered and smiled softly. "And I'm sorry, Lucas."

"Me too," he said as he scooted closer, wrapping and arm around her and pulling her into him. "Everything's okay now, right?"

"Yeah," Brooke nodded. "I just had to take care of some things. But I'm done now."

"Good, then let's consider it all forgotten."

Brooke nodded gratefully. "In fact," She said as she stood up. "I think I'm going to go put this away," she said as she motioned to her blackberry. "I'll be right back," she said before giving him a quick kiss and going inside.

* * *

"Lucas Scott?" Lucas looked up at the voice. He was still sitting out on the porch while Brooke ran upstairs to put her blackberry away. When Lucas looked up he saw a few familiar faces. 

"Ladies," Lucas greeted them. Standing before him was Casey, Jenny, and Danielle. He was fairly friendly with all three of them and had a few different classes with them over the years. All three shamelessly hit on him constantly.

"What are you up to today?" Jenny asked him.

"Just hanging around I guess," Lucas shrugged, trying not to prolong the conversation. They were all nice, and they all knew that he wasn't going to go out with him, but they were still there, Brooke was still inside, and Lucas was still uncomfortable.

"Where were you this weekend?" Casey asked. "We were at Jason's on Saturday night, all the guys were there but no Lucas Scott."

"Yeah, uh, I was actually in New York."

" New York?"

"Yeah, visiting—"

"Hey Broody, I'm back," Brooke called as she walked out the door, effectively stopping the conversation.

"Hey, pretty girl," Lucas stood and faced Brooke, having to stifle a laugh at her confused but amused expression. Brooke looked at Lucas with and eyebrow cocked, as if to say 'care to explain?'

It wasn't that she was jealous or threatened at all, she was just interested in how Lucas was going to handle this.

Lucas tried not to laugh and had to restrain himself from making a really obvious and over the top gesture that said that Brooke was his girlfriend.

"Brooke these are a few friends of mine," he said turning so that he could face everyone. "Casey, Jenny, Danielle, this is Brooke."

"Brooke Davis?"

"The one and only," Brooke smiled proudly but not egotistically as she held her hand out to shake their hands.

"Wow, Lucas never mentioned that he knew you," Jenny said.

"Really? You never mentioned your girlfriend?" Brooke asked as if she was surprised. She figured that even if he talked about the reason why he didn't date, he never mentioned the name, but it was always fun to cause a little trouble for Lucas.

Lucas rolled his eyes and smirked, knowing he wasn't going to get out of this one easily. unless….

Lucas' smirk turned slightly mischievous. He leaned in and placed a no-so-chaste kiss on Brooke lips.

"Yeah," Brooke said as they pulled out. "That's definitely a good reason."

"We're gonna head inside," Lucas said as he turned back to the three girls who were in a bit of shock that Lucas was dating Brooke Davis. "But you're coming to the party on Friday, right?"

"We'll be there," Danielle said as they began to back away. "Bye!" they all called and quickly left.

Lucas turned back to Brooke who was failing at holding in a laugh.

"Do girls always hit on you this early in the morning?" Brooke asked, trying to keep a straight face on.

Lucas shrugged and chuckled. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast," he said as he wrapped an arm around her and led her back inside.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**

**P.S.- please PM me if I'm taking a while to update in the future **


	17. Chapter 17

**Here's chapter 17!**

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the long wait. It's been almost two weeks and that's the longest I've gone without updating since I started writing fics. I've been unbelievably busy lately with school and track and other stuff. But if you want to blame something you can blame my history paper on post-civil war radical reconstruction. that was not fun to write. **

**Anyway, i tried to make this chapter long because of the wait. It's taken me so long to write it so i hope it lives up to your expectations. **

**Thanks to everyone who left amazing reviews!!!!! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"So you're not going to tell me anything else?" Brooke asked/prodded Lucas for more information about the class they were currently headed to on Friday morning.

"I told you all I can tell you; it's freshman psych class. The rest will be explained once we get there," Lucas assured her.

"Can't you tell me _now_?"

Lucas chuckled a little. "Ahh, be patient grasshopper."

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"Lucas, are you sure I'm even allowed into the class?"

"Yeah, I asked Dr. Robbins when I found out that you'd be here this week."

"You did?"

"Yeah, you're gonna like this, trust me," Lucas said as they walked into the building.

"For the record, I'm still really confused and a little suspicious of all this," Brooke told him pointedly.

"Don't worry, it's nothing to be afraid of."

Brooke was getting frustrated with the fact that she didn't know why she was supposed to come to the class. Usually she liked surprises, but not today.

"Oh, and we have to meet Nathan and Haley right after the class," Brooke said excitedly.

"Yeah, I got the same message. Speaking of, what is with you an Nathan, first you guys were talking the other day, then the hushed conversations, and now you're dying to see them. What's going on?" Lucas asked as they walked into the classroom.

"Oh Broody, didn't I tell you? Nathan and I are running away together to get married."

"Oh really," Lucas said, trying to keep a straight face. "And what does Haley think about all of this?"

"She can come with us, you know if she's still into that kinda stuff," Brooke shrugged, trying to hold in a laugh.

"Not gonna happen," Lucas said as he pulled Brooke closer.

"Why not?"

"Cause you're all mine."

"That I am," Brooke smiled and kissed him softly.

Lucas smiled and sighed blissfully after the short but sweet kiss.

"Come on, pretty girl, let's get a seat," Lucas said as he led her through the room. He greeted a few people briefly while keeping a proud and protective arm around Brooke.

They sat down around the middle of the mid sized lecture hall. There were about 40 students in the class room, and everyone's heads turned at the sound of a door opening at the other side of the room. Dr. Jim Robbins walked into the room. He was in his late 50s, clean shaven, and well dressed.

"Good morning," he spoke with a strong but friendly voice. "It's good to see you all again," he said as he took a folder out of his briefcase and sat in the chair behind the desk. "Anyone still a little drunk from last night?...good! Then let's get started," he said happily and everyone laughed a little.

"This is something that I've been doing for about 10 or 12 years now," he said as he got comfortable. "On our first day, we talked about stereo types and we questioned whether everyone could fit into one. I called you back here to discuss whether or not those people still fit into those stereotypes after four years of getting to know each other."

"Why am I here?" Brooke whispered to Lucas.

"Would you please just listen," Lucas said, smiling and shaking his head at her statement that sounded like they were in high school again.

"Fine," Brooke muttered.

"Does anyone remember who our first subject was?" Dr. Robbins questioned and a few muffled answers were heard. "Mr. Lucas Scott."

Brooke turned to Lucas and raised her eyebrows.

"Let's see," Dr. Robbins said as he flipped through some of his papers. "We were trying to decide whether or not Lucas would fit into a stereotype and this is what we determined about him: Lucas E. Scott, born and raised in Tree Hill, North Carolina; captain of the basketball team and dated the captain of the cheerleaders."

Brooke snickered softly. He was right; at first glance, Lucas seemed like that stereotype, but past that, his life was anything but that simple.

"Can you tell me something that defies what I just told you? After four years, what else do you know about him?"

"He's a literature major."

"Quiet."

"Hot."

"National Champion!" That one earned more than a few cheers from the class.

"Okay, okay, not what I meant," Dr. Robbins cut in. "I mean can anyone tell me something about him that defies the image we set for him. Can anyone tell me about a Lucas Scott that doesn't have anything to do with basketball?"

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Do you have _any_ friends?" Brooke asked quietly.

Lucas rolled his eyes and laughed a little.

"Did you know that he was going to do this?" Brooke asked quietly.

"Yeah, he warned me a couple weeks ago."

"Oh, I know," one person spoke up. "He does that thing where he sits on his front steps and just…thinks I guess."

"And he never dates anyone," a girl added.

"I've never even seen him hook up with anyone," a guy added.

"Maybe he's gay," someone suggested.

"Whoa! What?!" Lucas finally cut in.

"Trust me," Brooke laughed but spoke seriously. "He's definitely not gay," she said, bringing attention to herself for the first time.

Brooke realized just how much attention she earned with her comment when she saw more than a few heads turn.

"Hi," she said weakly and waving slightly. This time it was Lucas' turn to laugh.

"Hi," Dr. Robbins replied enthusiastically. "Welcome," he said. His voice silenced the murmurs that had arisen when they realized that Brooke Davis was with Lucas Scott. "And what do you know about Mr. Scott?"

Brooke looked at Lucas, smiling at his half nervous- half smirk and then turned back to the front of the class.

"He broods," Brooke stated.

"Broods?"

"Yes. He thinks and worries about anything and everything. And he doesn't like to anyone know about his problems, not so much because of pride, but because he feels like he's burdening others," Brooke said, loving how well she knew Lucas. "He also has this sort of hero complex."

"Trying to help everyone?"

"Yeah, but I'm talking about physically save everyone, like running into burning buildings or schools with guns and jumping off of bridges after car accidents."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Brooke said, finding thoroughly amusing to talk about Lucas to everyone who probably knew very little about who he really was. "And as for the basketball thing, Lucas Scott is not your typical jock. Not with his family or medical history or any of the stuff that happened to all of us in high school."

"You must be our cheerleader."

"Proud of it," Brooke said smiling. "Well," she added. "Most of it."

"Meaning?"

"To put it simple, before Lucas came along, I was…."

"You don't have to do this," Lucas whispered to her. Taking her to the class was just so that she could see him being made fun of or maybe learning more about his college life. It wasn't supposed to be Brooke's opportunity to rehash a part of her life that, as she had previously told him, wasn't very proud of.

"No, it's okay," Brooke reassured him. "I was the stereotype that you're probably thinking of. I was spoiled and controlling and a complete bitch. I partied and drank to much, never studying or really caring about my future….until the night I met Lucas."

"And how did you two meet?"

Brooke froze, turning redder by the second. Saying she wasn't the best person and giving an example of that were two totally different things.

She turned to Lucas who stretched his arms back behind him with a cocky grin on his face.

"She showed up naked in the back seat of my car after a game," Lucas smirked and turned to Brooke who looked like she was going to kill him. "Oh, sorry; she was wearing mittens," Lucas corrected himself.

"You are so dead," Brooke said slowly and quietly.

"Right, I show up and meet this brooding troubled jock and you know, teach him to have a little fun."

"I'm pretty sure drunk and tattooed on the first date is only your definition of fun."

"And yours was making me read a book."

"You love that book."

"So not the point!"

And that's when they just stopped and started laughing, almost forgetting that they were in a class; going at it with their usual banter in front of everyone.

"Okay then," Dr. Robbins cut in. "Clearly there is a side to Mr. Scott that we don't know. Moving on!"

* * *

Later that day Brooke and Lucas lay in bed together. The room was quiet; the only sounds they could hear were each other's breathing which had finally returned to normal. The sun was showing brightly through the room and in the heat all that covered them was Lucas' thin bed sheet.

Lucas had an arm wrapped around Brooke to hold her close. She laid her head on his shoulder, her soft brown hair flowing onto the pillow behind her. They laid with their eyes close as Brooke drew slight circles on Lucas sweat glistened chest.

Lucas took a deep breath; his chest rising and falling significantly as he let it out contently.

"Did you have fun today?" Lucas asked softly, still not opening his eyes.

"Mhm," Brooke opened her eyes and nodded slightly. "It was nice to see a little bit of that part of your life. And I got to brag about you, so that was a definite plus."

Lucas let out a deep chuckle. Remembering how after class he told Brooke how he thought it was cute that she had clearly been marking her territory.

After class Brooke got a message from Haley that they'd meet up before the party because she and Nathan were 'taking care of some things'. Brooke knew instantly that they were celebrating, but Lucas of course was still oblivious.

When Lucas got back from his second class to find Brooke with her laptop in his bed finishing up some work. With no one else in the house, one thing quickly led to another, which is how they ended up together now, hours later, legs tangled together, naked, laying blissfully in Lucas' bed.

The silence of the house was broken when the heard a loud crash downstairs followed by a shout and a few laughs.

"Idiots," Lucas muttered under his breath and Brooke giggled a little.

The Marcus, Brett, and Adam were setting up for the party downstairs, probably complaining how Lucas didn't have to help.

Silence once again took over in the room. Brooke and Lucas closed their eyes again, both slightly smiling at how perfect the moment seemed to be.

"Do you think we could just stay here? You know, this moment right here," Brooke asked.

Lucas didn't answer at first as he contemplated the question. He wished that they could stay like that forever, but in a more literal sense he also knew that in only a short amount of time his usually quiet house would be packed with celebrating seniors.

"No," Lucas finally said. "But I can promise that there will be many, many more moments like this in the future."

Brooke's smile grew at the answer and she wondered briefly how he always knew what to say.

"Do you remember what we talked about the morning after prom?" Lucas asked.

Brooke furrowed her brow in confusion at the seemingly random question.

"Vaguely," she responded.

"You were talking about how worried you were about graduation and I didn't understand why," Lucas said. "You told me that it was because you felt that high school was safe and you didn't know what you were going to do in the real world 'cause you'd have to start over."

"Yeah," Brooke said softly. "I miss high school….sometimes."

Lucas laughed a little at her comment.

"I felt like that today when I was walking back here after class," Lucas admitted.

"You missed high school?"

"No," Lucas laughed. "I was….nervous," Lucas admitted, trying not to say the word 'scared'. "I guess I feel that same high school being safe feeling here, and I know I still have two weeks till graduation, but with classes being over, it really feels like I'm leaving, and I'm not sure what it'll be like when I _never_ have to go to class again."

"The real world isn't _too_ bad," Brooke said smiling, thinking of her success with Clothes over Bros.

"Yeah, I know," Lucas said. "I know because when I got home I saw you here, and I realized that I get to leave college and start my life with you."

Brooke smiled brightly and tilted her head so that she could press her lips against his neck, causing Lucas to let out an unexpected deep moan.

"Do you practice these little speeches?" Brooke asked.

"Nope, I just can't help it."

"Good," Brooke smiled. "Cause I love them."

"Good," Lucas repeated before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"Come here," Brooke whispered. She wrapped her hand around Lucas' neck and pulled him closer, teasing him by letting their lips hover just centimeters away from each other. Lucas smirked and leaned in the rest of the way, crashing his lips onto hers. Lucas traced Brooke's bottom lip with his tongue, begging for entrance. Brooke gladly allowed him in as the killed deepened. Before they knew it, Lucas had rolled them over so that he was now on top of her.

"Yo Luke!" Marcus called from the other side of the door as he knocked loudly and of course entered.

"Shit," Brooke yelled as Lucas quickly rolled away and she tried to pull the sheet up high on them.

"Oh, damn," Marcus muttered covering his eyes. He peeked through one time quickly, only to be met with an ice cold glare from Lucas.

"Marcus," Lucas said through gritted teeth. He wasn't really that angry, he was just in a little shock. "The point of knocking is to wait for an answer before entering."

"Yeah, sorry man," Marcus stuttered. "We kept calling you're name, but uh.."

"You can open you eyes now," Brooke told him, trying to hold back a laugh.

Marcus carefully removed his hand from his face and opened his eyes to find Lucas standing in his boxers and Brooke covering herself closely with the sheet. As much as he would have loved getting a look at Brooke, he knew that Lucas would kill him if he did.

"Man, I thought we had a deal?" Lucas said. "I don't help set up if I stay sober tonight."

"Oh yeah, that's still on," Marcus said. "I just came to tell you that Nathan and Haley are downstairs waiting for you two."

"Oh my god," Brooke squealed. "Luke get dressed, Marcus tell them we'll be down in a minute."

Marcus nodded and left so that Brooke and Lucas could change.

* * *

"What is going on?" Lucas asked frustrated as he followed a still squealing Brooke down the stairs and to Nathan and Haley who were waiting by the door.

"Hey guys, we can't stay long because we still have to get really for tonight, but we wanted to tell you something first," Haley said cautiously, still not sure of how to tell Lucas. She had figured Brooke knew because of all the no-so-subtle hints that she had dropped during the week, and she hoped that Lucas would take the news as well as Brooke apparently did.

"Yes or no?! Yes or no?!" Brooke asked quickly, jumping up and down in excitement for them.

"Yes," Haley and Nathan said happily.

Brooke practically screamed and enveloped Haley in a huge hug and then Nathan in one after.

"Uhhh, what the hell is going on here?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Um," Haley tried to find the words.

"You're gonna be an uncle, man," Nathan cut in for her.

"What?"

"You…are…going…" Brooke started slowly.

"No, I know what he said," Lucas smiled sarcastically to Brooke. "This is……amazing!" Lucas said ecstatically before hugging them both. "How long have you guys known?"

"Just confirmed it today," Nathan said. "But two months along."

"Which reminds me," Haley said as she pulled out a sonogram photo and handed it to them. "That's for you guys, and that little tiny dot right there," Haley said as so pointed to a place on the picture. "Is our baby."

"Wow," was all Lucas could say.

"I know, scary, right?" Nathan asked, earning a playful hit from Haley. They had both discussed that although they were terrified they were both also extremely happy.

"More like wonderful," Brooke corrected him, still in awe over the picture. "How come you guys waited so long to tell us?"

"Well we wanted to just keep it to ourselves for a while," Haley said. "Besides, we wanted to tell you in person when you got down here, and then once you got here, we figured we'd wait so that we could give you this."

"This is incredible, you guys," Lucas said.

"Yeah, yeah it is," Nathan said proudly as he wrapped his arms around Haley.

"Oh my god, Haley!" Brooke said.

"What?"

"I can totally throw you a baby shower, and make a Clothes over Bros baby line, and—"

"Whoaaa there tigger," Haley cut in. "Relax we still have a ways to go."

"But I can still do all that, right?"

"Of course, you are going to be this baby's aunt, aren't you?"  
"Ahh! Yes!!" Brooke screamed happily, hugging Haley again.

"Well don't forget that he's also going to have the greatest uncle in the world," Lucas added.

"Oh yeah, Tim's super excited about this," Nathan teased Lucas.

"You're funny."

"Thanks, but I know," Nathan smiled cockily.

Brooke and Haley both rolled their eyes at him.

"We should go and get ready, but we'll be back later," Haley told them as she led Nathan out before he could say something really stupid.

"Bye tutor-mom!" Brooke affectionately called Haley as they all hugged one more time.

"Wow," was all Lucas said after the door closed.

"Yeah," Brooke said quietly. "They're going to be amazing parents, aren't they."

"Yeah, they are," Lucas agreed.

"I know this sounds weird since they're only 22, but I think they're really ready for this," Brooke said.

Lucas thought about this for a second and realized it was true. He thought about how with both of their pregnancy scares, they really weren't ready, but Nathan and Haley were ready now. They would be out of school, married, still unbelievably in love, and Nathan was almost guaranteed to get a drafted to the NBA in the first round.

"I think so too," Lucas agreed. "Come on pretty girl," Lucas said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and led her back upstairs. "Let's get ready for this party.

* * *

"Do we have to go down there?" Lucas wined from under the pill that he held over his face.

"Considering it's your party and from the way it sounds, it's already in full swing, yeah we have to go down there," Brooke said as she put her earrings in and checked herself in the mirror once more.

"Well I'm tired, you wore me out earlier," Lucas said. Even under the pillow, Brooke new that he had a grin on his face.

"Would you please just get up already?" Brooke asked a little more frustrated this time.

Recognizing the tone in her voice instantly, Lucas took the pillow off of his head and sat up. He froze momentarily when he saw Brooke who looked gorgeous. She was wearing a low cut and short, yet somehow still tasteful party dress that made Lucas' breath get caught in his throat when he saw her.

"Let's go Broody," Brooke said as she took his hand and helped him up. As soon as they opened the bedroom door the formerly muffled music was now in full blast.

Lucas laced his fingers with Brooke's and held her hand tightly as he led her downstairs. In Lucas' opinion it took far too long to get to Nathan and Haley. Not because they couldn't be found, (in fact Lucas spotted them in the living room as soon as they down stairs) but rather because everyone that he and Brooke passed just _had_ to stop him and greet him. He was friendly with most of the people, actual friends with a few of them, but he was already finding it hard to get through one of these parties without a drink. Lucas was clearly a popular figure on campus. Clearly it wasn't his brooding nature that made him a reluctant 'big man on campus' but it was being one of the star basketball players did that for him.

Brooke was already enjoying herself; it had been a long time since she went to a house party instead of one of the over-hyped clubs in New York with Rachel. Lucas was glad that Brooke was enjoying herself, but that didn't stop him from muttering a frustrated 'finally' when they reached Nathan and Haley who were talking with Adam and on again off again girlfriend Marissa.

"Hey," Brooke cheerfully greeted them and took a seat on the couch next to Haley. When she looked around the room she realized how different it was. The couches were spread out, the TV was playing a baseball game, and speakers and kegs were spread out throughout the house playing the latest rap-clubbish song.

"Hey Nathan," Lucas said. "Should we do the thing now or later?"

Nathan looked around for a second and nodded. "Now."

"K, you get the music and I'll get Adam."

"Me?" Adam asked incredulously as everyone listened curiously.

"Yep," Lucas said. "Get up, you're coming with me."

Adam stayed seated on the couch looking hesitant.  
"Oh relax," Lucas laughed at him.

"Fine," Adam reluctantly got up and followed Lucas leaving a very curious Brooke, Haley, and Marissa behind.

Lucas led Adam back towards the stairs and up them about a third of the way so that they could see over everyone else. The music cut and the complaints were quickly heard. Seconds after the music shut off Nathan reappeared, tossing a can of beer to Lucas.

"Everyone listen up!" Nathan yelled in a powerful voice to get everyone's attention. Everyone quickly quieted down and looked over to the three guys standing on the stairs.

"Thanks," Lucas said with a little more shyness than Nathan. "So we have an announcement."

"Coach K, Lucas and I all decided together," Nathan started.

"That our buddy Adam over here," Lucas said as he hooked a playful arm around Adam's neck. "Is going to be your captain next year and lead the Blue Devils to a second national title."

"Thanks man," Adam said over the loud cheering giving Nathan and Lucas man-hugs. "To next year's title!" Adam said raising his beer which caused even more cheers. Adam was turned to the party in front of him, so he missed the mischievous glint in the Scott brothers' eyes. Before he knew it Nathan and Lucas had sprayed their beers all of him and pushed him playfully into the crowd.

The music started again but Nathan and Lucas stood on the stairs for another minute, contently watching over the party before they headed back over to Brooke and Haley.

* * *

Lucas had never been the best dancer. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't exactly an expert either.

But now he was dancing with Brooke, and just by the way she moved with him, Lucas looked like a pro. The way she moved her hips with his and the sultry look she had in her eyes was almost enough to make him go crazy. It was enough to make him want to slam her up against a wall right there in the middle of the party with the animal like passion they had earlier that day.

There foreheads were pressed together and their breath mixed. The party around them didn't exist to them; they were too caught up in the beat of the music and the feel of each other's bodies to notice anything else that was going on.

The only thing that was able to break them out of their haze was Marcus frantically calling Lucas' name as he ran through the other couples over to them.

Lucas' jaw clenched for a moment in frustration.

"Again? Really?"

"Really," Brooke laughed.

"Luke, come on, we need your help," Marcus said as he got to them. He was halfway through his fourth drink of the night when drama once again started.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked, suddenly more aware of what could be happening.

"Brett's getting into it with Sam," Marcus told him pointing over to another side of the house. "I need you're help man."

Lucas nodded. "Brooke, can you get Nathan and tell him that I need his help over by the kitchen."

"Yeah, is everything okay?" Brooke asked.

"We'll see," Lucas sighed right before they heard shouting from far away. "Shit," Lucas muttered.

"I'll go get him," Brooke said and left to go find Nathan as Lucas and Marcus headed towards the shouting.

Lucas and Nathan were probably two of the only sober guys in the party which meant that they were the two who would most likely be able to cool down the ugly confrontation.

Brett and some guy Sam who was also a senior had hated each other since freshman year. No one knew exactly why, but they figured it had something to do with a common ex-girlfriend.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Brett yelled as he pushed an drunk Sam back.

"You! You son of a bitch!" Sam yelled back; clearly he was an angry drunk.

Brett had only had two drinks so far that night; little enough to keep him balanced but enough to get him into the fight quickly.

"You really have a problem with me then show me, quit the stupid comments and hit me already!" Brett egged Sam on looking amused. Bad move.

Sam looked like he was ready to explode which was why Lucas jumped between them just as Nathan, Brooke and Haley showed up at the scene.

Lucas put a calm hand out to stop Sam from making another move. Sam calmed down and lifted his beer bottle back up to his lips to take a swig. Lucas shook his head, knowing that Sam shouldn't be drinking, but taking the drink away would probably set him off. Instead of pushing Sam further, Lucas turned around and stepped to Brett.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, man?" Lucas asked in a hushed yell.

"I didn't do anything," Brett bit back. "That pussy over there just went psycho on me!"

And that was all Sam needed to lunge at Brett.

Lucas felt a hard, sharp pain on the side of his head, and then black.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Again, i'm so sorry for the long wait.**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**

**P.S.- please PM me if I'm taking a while to update in the future **


	18. Chapter 18

**Here's chapter 18! **

**Thanks to everyone who left amazing reviews!!!!! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Lucas felt a hard, sharp pain on the side of his head, and then black._

"Lucas!" Brooke screamed. Within a second she was by his side.

Lucas' eyes were shut tightly in pain and he was running his hands through his hair, pulling strongly at it as if the pain from pulling his hair would lessen the throbbing pain coming from both sides of his head.

Sam had lunged at Brett, taking a violent swing at the same time. But Lucas was in the way and the half filled beer bottle hit Lucas hard on the top right corner of his forehead. Lucas buckled immediately from the blow, hitting the back left side of his head on the hard tile in the kitchen as he hit the floor.

Lucas groaned in immense pain, barely registering what was going on around him. His eyes cracked open momentarily; just long enough to see Brooke's concerned eyes staring back at him before the pain took over again. His eyes closed as his eyes rolled back and Lucas went limp on the floor.

"No! No, no, no! Lucas!" Brooke cried, tapping his cheek lightly trying to get him to wake up. "Lucas!" she cried again, but he didn't budge.

His pulse was weak and he was still breathing; barely breathing, but breathing none the less. Brooke delicately ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it back slightly. Brooke stopped breathing for a second at what she saw.

The area had already swelled and right below Lucas' hairline was a gash. Blood was trickling down the side of his forehead down past his ear and a few tiny green specs were visible in the cut from the cracked beer bottle.

Brooke finally took her eyes off of Lucas when she heard a deep shout from behind her. It was Nathan.

As soon as Lucas fell to the ground, Nathan's first instinct was to tend to his brother. But then he saw Sam trying discretely back away from the scene. That's when his famous Scott temper took over.

With his athletic nature, it only took one swift move to get to Sam, grab him by his shirt, and slam him into wall.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Nathan yelled; his blood was boiling with anger. Sam just looked at him with a dazed expression; it was clear that he hadn't sobered up at all from the situation.

"Nathan," Haley pleaded from behind him.

Nathan pressed Sam harder into the wall and Sam grimaced in pain. "What the hell'd you do!"

"Nathan!" Haley repeated louder trying to stay as calm as possible.

Nathan turned his head so that he could look at Haley. The second he saw the look in Haley's eyes he loosened his grip on Sam. Haley was pleading and demanding at the same time just by looking at him. She was begging him to let go and help his brother, and she was telling him to stop; telling him that with one punch or one wrong move his career could be over before it really started.

"Marcus, get him out of her," Nathan said in a low and stern voice as he shoved Sam over to Marcus who grabbed a hold of him tightly.

"Haley," Nathan said softly as he dug through his pocket. "Go get the car and pull it up to the front, we need to take him to the hospital now."

Haley nodded and headed for the door; thankful that Nathan had calmed down and impressed at how rationally he was thinking when all she could think about was Lucas' unconscious body.

Nathan took a few worried but strong steps and knelt by Lucas. He could see the gash on his forehead and his swallowed hard; just staring at the injury sent pain through his own body. Nathan turned to Brooke and saw that a few tears had already begun to trickle down her face. One of her hands was holding Lucas' securely while the other was caressing his cheek.

"Brooke," Nathan said softly. He knew that she wasn't going to let go of Lucas and it would be pointless to argue about it now. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to recall everything he could about the First Aid course that Coach had made the team take incase something had ever happened while they were playing. Had it not been his brother lying before him, Nathan probably would have laughed at the irony. Lucas of course took the class seriously while Nathan just complained at how pointless it was; he always figured that if there was some sort of injury that they'd have to deal with, the athletic trainer would be there to take care of it. Now looking at Lucas lying lifelessly, he silently thanked Lucas for helping him study to pass the class.

"Brooke you have to let go of his hand."

"No I ca—"

"Brooke," Nathan said more sternly. "I need you to let go of his hand so that you can hold his head steady for me while I pick him up. Can you do that for me?" Nathan asked, trying to be strong yet gentle at the same time.

Brooke nodded, trying to hold back a sob as she moved around Lucas. She held his head steady and watched at Nathan carefully place one of Lucas' arms around his neck, wrapped one of his arms under Lucas' back and the other under his legs. Nathan grunted slightly as he slowly stood with Lucas sprawled out in his arms. Lucas wasn't the scrawny teenager he was in high school; he had gained muscle over the years of intense NCAA athletics.

Nathan slowly led them outside to where Haley was waiting. The music had already been turned off and everyone was silent as they watched Lucas being carried out.

* * *

Brooke, Nathan, and Haley had been sitting in the emergency room waiting room for just over two hours now. Forty-five minutes after they had arrived, Marcus, Brett, and Adam had showed up after quickly clearing out the party. Shortly after that Coach K arrived to check on them. Then thirty minutes later more of Lucas' teammates and a few of his good friends had showed up to wait with them. The room was filled with people there for Lucas.

The room was mostly quiet. There were the soft murmurs of some of his friends, Nathan occasionally answering his phone and responding to the people who wanted to know what was going on with Lucas, Haley was comforting Brooke, and Brooke was mostly quiet. She only spoke a few times, trying to convince herself that Lucas was going to be okay or frantically asking a passing nurse if they knew anything about him.

In two hours all they had heard was that he had been taken to get stitches and tests done as soon as he was admitted. That's it. No one would tell them anything else. Until now, two hours and thirteen minutes after getting there. Yes, Brooke, Nathan, and Haley had all been counting.

"Are you all here for Lucas Scott?" A middle aged man in scrubs and a white lab coat asked as he approached the group.

"Yes," Brooke, Nathan, and Haley answered as they all quickly jumped to their feet.

"Are any of you family?" He asked.

"I am," Nathan said proudly as he took a step forward. No one had called Karen yet. When they first arrived they had made a decision not to. They knew she would be on her way to Durham before they even hung up the phone, and they didn't even know if it was anything serious. Of course it was though, the reminded themselves; he was unconscious! But they also reminded themselves that it could seem a lot worse than it really was. So they had made the decision not to call Karen together, knowing that Lucas was 22 and capable of making his own decisions (as was Nathan if a next of kin was needed), not to mention the fact that if he was okay, the last thing he needed was an overprotective mother to be there.

"Whatever it is you can say in front of all three of us," Nathan added with authority, knowing that Brooke and Haley should be hearing this information with him.

The doctor nodded respectfully and led them to an empty corner of the waiting room and sat them down.

"Um, Dr…" Nathan started.

"Alberts."

"Dr. Alberts," Nathan continued. "Before you go into all the medical stuff, can you just tell us if Lucas is okay?" Nathan asked nervously.

Dr. Alberts smiled at the three nervous people sitting in front of him. "He's okay."

All three let out a breath that they had held as they waited the seemingly never ending second for an answer.

"When you brought him in the first thing we did is clean out and stitch up the gas on his forehead. Then we took him for more than enough tests and scans. Do you want me to explain?" He asked.

"Unless something came up on one, it's not necessary," Nathan said; it wasn't like any of them were going to understand what it meant.

"Luckily the tests didn't show anything we should be worried about. "He took a pretty nasty blow to the head, and hitting it again when he fell like you said definitely didn't help. He's got a pretty good concussion from this all, but it's nothing that he can't recover from shortly."

Nathan, Brooke and Haley all took in the information; relief washing over them as they heard the good news.

"He woke up during one of the scans," Dr. Alberts continued. "He's gonna have one hell of a head ache for the next few days so we put him on some basic painkillers for that. I'll prescribe some more for when he gets released."

"When can he get released?" Brooke asked quickly.

Dr. Alberts looked at his watch. "It's almost midnight now. We need to keep him up for two more hours because of the concussion to make sure that…just to make sure that nothing happens," he said, choosing his words carefully so not to upset the already nervous and worried kids before him. "I want him to have another set of tests early tomorrow morning, but if all goes well, then he should be out of here by noon."

Brooke sighed in relief and sat back in her chair.   
"He's going to have some pretty bad head aches, and he's going to need to stay in bed for at least two days before he can even consider leaving his house. After that, he should take it fairly easy for about two weeks and then he should be doing much better."

"Fairly easy?" Nathan asked.

"He can walk around, not too much, but enough to get around. If he's tired he shouldn't push himself at all, and definitely not basketball for at least two weeks."

Haley nodded, making sure she remembered all of his health care needs. Nathan was relieved that he was okay. Brooke was just dying to see him.

"The nurse behind the desk can give you his room number when you're ready to see him. Everyone here can see if Lucas would like; it might help him stay awake, but keep it to a few at a time and make sure to keep the noise level down."

"So we can go now?" Brooke asked, inching out of her seat.

"Yes."

"Thank you!" Brooke said quickly and jumped out of her seat, heading for the nurses station to find out his room number.

"I'm gonna…" Haley said, motioning towards where Brooke ran off. "Just try to calm her down. Thank you for everything," she said sincerely, shaking the doctor's hand before going off to make sure Brooke didn't give Lucas a heart attack when she got to him.

"Brooke's was being sincere with the 'thank you', she's just being…well Brooke," Nathan smiled and shook his head. "But really, thank you."

"My pleasure," Dr. Alberts smiled. "And by the way, I'm a huge fan of yours and your brother's."

"Thanks," Nathan said smiling, slightly embarrassed but honored.

"You should go check on your brother."

Nathan nodded and headed off in the direction that Brooke and Haley went.

* * *

"Lucas?"

The voice was quiet and scared. The shakiness in her voice showed how she was desperately trying to hold back tears as she stood in the doorway, looking in on Lucas in a hospital bed with a bandage on his forehead and an IV in his arm.

"Hey Pretty Girl," he said and smiled comfortingly. He lifted a hand out to her; silently asking for her to come closer.

Brooke quickly took the few short steps towards him and fell into his arms, burying her head in his chest; two tears soaking through his hospital gown.

"It's okay," Lucas whispered, rubbing her back softly.

"You scared me," Brooke as she pulled away.

Lucas leaned up slightly and kissed her softly. "I'm sorry."

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked.

"My head hurts," Lucas said, closing his eyes for a moment in pain. "And I'm tired, but I'm happy to see you."

"Well I'm happy to see you too," Brooke said. "But you can't go to sleep."

"So I've been told," Lucas rolled his eyes, but stopped and winced as the headache got worse.

"You okay?" Brooke asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Lucas sighed.

"Hey man," Nathan said quietly from the door where he and Haley stood. "How are you?"

"Much better now," Lucas said reassuringly.

"We need to stop seeing you like this," Haley said as she gave Lucas a hug.

"Yeah man," Nathan agreed. "We almost made it through college without either of us ending up in here. You couldn't wait two more weeks?"

Lucas laughed a little. "Sorry," he offered and they all laughed trying to break the worrisome tension in the room.

Haley stood and sighed. "I have to go call your mom and convince her not to come here."

"Good luck with that," Brooke smirked.

"Thanks," Haley said, smiling sarcastically

"How are you going to do that, Hales?" Lucas asked.

"It's going to take a _long_ time," Haley said. "If you weren't in a hospital bed, I'd say you owe me big," Haley said and got up to leave.

"Thanks," Lucas called out sincerely.

"So, you think you're up for a few visitors?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Lucas smiled slightly as Nathan left to go get some of the people that were waiting to see him.

"You okay?" Brooke asked worriedly as she caressed his cheek softly. She felt like a broken record when she asked that so many times, but she just had to make sure.

"Yeah," Lucas sighed. "As long as you don't leave me here, I'll be okay."

Brooke smiled and let out a small laugh; even with a concussion he still came up with the perfect lines to say to her.

"Hey man," They turned around to see Nathan, Marcus, Brett, and Adam standing in the doorway.

"Hey guys," Lucas said smiling, waving them in.

"Luke, I am so sorry," Brett began to apologize; he felt horrible for getting Lucas into that situation. Granted Brett had gotten into more than a few fights before, but none of them had ever ended this way.

"Did you hit me in the head with a bottle?" Lucas asked.

"No, but—"

"Then it wasn't you fault. We all know Sam, being the jackass that he is, would have gotten into a fight with someone else tonight if it wasn't with you, and I probably would have had to break that fight up too, so it's not your fault, okay? I'm fine."

"The bandage on your head begs to differ," Adam said.

"No worries, they've got me drugged up," Lucas joked.

"Good, now we can have some real fun with you," Marcus grinned.

Lucas just laughed and waved him off.

"But seriously, don't worry about Sam or any of that stuff; we took care of it," Marcus said more seriously.

"Took care of it?" Brooke asked, raising an eyebrow in intrigue. "Sounds a little sketchy."

"Well he's gonna have one hell of a shiner for a few days," Marcus said, trying to shrug it off.

"You didn't have to do that," Lucas said.

"Yeah I did," Marcus told him firmly, giving him a look as if to say 'don't question it, you would have done the same thing'.

"But no one called the cops, right?" Lucas asked with a little more worry.

"No, we cleared everyone out pretty quick, told them some bull shit story that I'm sure no one believed, but no one called," Adam explained.

"Cops?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah," Brett sighed, annoyed at the thought. "We've never gotten into anything with them, but they're a pain in the ass."

"Even if they did come tonight, it's not like anything would happen to us," Marcus said.

"Yeah, we checked IDs at the door, and Sam was the only one who threw a punch, or hit, or whatever," Adam added.

"Do you guys actually check IDs, or do you check to see if someone had them?" Brooke asked.

"Both," Brett shrugged. "Depends what kind of night it is."

Brooke nodded. Her expression became nostalgic for a moment before turning devious. "Did Lucas every show you his fake ID?" Brooke asked.

"You mean the one you gave me the night you got me drunk and tattooed?" Lucas asked playfully, already knowing the answer.

"That would be the one."

"Damn, you guys must have done some pretty freaky stuff in high school, huh?" Marcus laughed.

"Please don't get them started," Nathan groaned, not wanting to relive the kinky glory days of Brucas.

Brooke rolled her eyes at Nathan and turned back to the guys. "So besides Broody getting his ass kicked by a beer bottle, anything else interesting happen at this party?" Brooke asked.

The three guys grinned and settled into the room to discuss the rest of the night's events together.

They had stayed for a while; talking about anything really as other visitors came through to see Lucas. Most were his teammates, only a few close friends, and they all only stayed for a few minutes each.

Half an hour after she left the room, Haley had come back with an exasperated look that turned triumphant when she announced that she had somehow convinced Karen to stay in Tree Hill and not drive up to take care of Lucas.

It had been an hour an a half before everyone finally went home, leaving Brooke and Lucas alone in the hospital room.

"You tired?" Lucas asked Brooke who was trying her best not to fall asleep in the chair next to his bed.

"No," Brooke lied weakly.

"Liar," Lucas smirked.

"I'm supposed to be keeping you awake, not going to sleep myself."

"Come here," Lucas said, reaching an arm out and motioning for her to join him in the oddly spacious hospital bed.

Brooke happily climbed in and snuggled closer to Lucas, drawing light patterns on his chest.

"Why don't we watch some TV?" Lucas suggested. "I'm sure there are some Friends reruns on somewhere."

"Sounds like a plan," Brooke mumbled.

Lucas stroked her hair gently as he flicked through the channels, subconsciously pulling her closer every so often. By the time Lucas had found a good station to watch, Brooke was already asleep in his arms. Lucas sighed and laughed a little. He looked over at the clock beside the bed; twenty minutes before he could go to sleep. He sighed again and settles back into the bed ready for whatever episode of the comedy was on. He laced his fingers with Brooke's and smiled contently; despite the hospital and the throbbing headache, this was a pretty perfect moment.

"Brooke," Lucas whispered as he brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. It was the next morning and Brooke was still asleep next to him. It was 8 o'clock which meant only six hours of sleep. "Brooke," he whispered again causing her to stir a little and then open her eyes.

"Hey," she said with a raspy voice. "What's wrong?" She asked more worriedly after remembering the previous night's events.

"Nothings wrong," Lucas said chuckling a little. He motioned to the doorway and Brooke quickly turned to see a patient and slightly amused intern waiting to take Lucas for more tests so he could be released later that day.

"Oh," Brooke said with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry," she added as she detached herself from Lucas and then got out of the hospital bed.

"Not a problem," the intern smiled as she moved behind Lucas' bed to begin pushing him out to take him to his test.

"Wait!" Lucas said before she could begin moving him. He grabbed Brooke's hand and pulled her closer to him. With another gentle tug he pulled her down into soft but passionate kiss, sighed after his pulled away.

"Love you," Lucas whispered.

"Love you too," Brooke beamed as she spoke.

"I'll have him back in about two hours," the intern told her on the way out.

Brooke let out a deep sigh once they left the room. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the far wall of the room and groaned to herself. Her hair was messy, her make up was smudge, and she looked beyond tired. Not exactly how Brooke liked to look. She spotted her bad on the chair in the corner and silently thanked Nathan for dropping off some of their stuff late last night.

In a few short minutes Brooke had deemed herself presentable, and then plopped down in the fairly comfortable chair in the room. It was then that she realized that she was going to be sitting there alone for the next two hours. She stared straight ahead for a few minutes; daydreaming about getting Lucas home and spending the rest of the day relaxing in bed with him and taking care of him. Then it dawned on her; she would have to be on a plane back to New York the next day.

"Oh god," she muttered to herself. There was no way she could leave Lucas now. Not only did she have to take care of him now that he was on bed rest, but after spending so much time with him, she didn't know if she could go back to life without him. "Shit," she muttered, wishing she had never remembered this and had just gone on in denial. "It's only two weeks," she tried to convince herself. Two weeks until she came right back down here for Lucas, Nathan, and Haley's graduation and then….

………..

………..

Brooke groaned and put her head in her hands. She had no idea what they were going to do after his graduation. They had tried to stay away from the touchy subject all week, but now she was seriously regretting it because they both had no idea of what was going to come next for them.

Brooke was pulled from her momentary freak-out by the buzzing of her blackberry beside her. She picked it up and praised it for having such good timing; work would definitely be able to make her forget about her other problems.

_"Brookie-" Rachel said in an e-mail. "Read over the e-mail and write back with approvals/rejections. Don't worry I'm holding down the fort here, but it would be nice if you called once in a while. I'm starting to feel unloved. Miss you, bitch, -Rach."_

"Thank you, Rachel," Brooke smiled at her friend's e-mail. "Time to go to work."

* * *

Before Brooke knew it, it had been almost two hours and she was still engrossed in her work. She smiled momentarily, remembering how earlier that week Haley questioned how her thumbs hadn't fallen off yet with all of the typing she did on her blackberry. It was worth the sore thumbs though because she was getting a lot done and that was one less thing for her to worry about at the moment. She had been worried that she'd get back to New York and be buried in work that she had missed, but now she was able to catch up on some last minute things before she went back the next day.

Brooke sighed heavily; she had to stop thinking about that.

"Miss Davis?"

Brooke looked up from her blackberry to see the intern on Lucas' case standing in the doorway, vaguely recalling her name was Dr. Rebecca something-rather.

"Please, it's Brooke," Brooke said warmly. "Is Lucas okay?"

"Yes, he's great. The tests went well and he should be out of here soon."

"Thank god," Brooke said, releasing a breath she was holding as she waited for the answer. "Where is he now?"

"He ran into a one of our patients sons in the waiting room and the boys were big fans of his, so Lucas wanted to talk to them for a bit."

Brooke smiled softly. Of course Lucas wanted to comfort them; he was Lucas Scott after all.

"He really loves you, you know?" Rebecca said quietly. Brooke gave her a curious look. "He couldn't stop talking about you the whole time. We had to ask him to stop talking so that he would stop moving for the tests."

Brooke laughed a little and rolled her eyes. "Sounds like Lucas; he always chooses the weirdest times to start talking. The rest of the time he's pretty quiet."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he doesn't really fit the basketball star image," Brooke said and Rebecca nodded in agreement.

Brooke phone started buzzing again and she sighed as she reached over to check it.

"I'm gonna go get Lucas," Rebecca said as she backed out of the room, leaving Brooke to deal with whatever else work called for.

A few minutes later, just as Brooke was finishing up her latest e-mail, Rebecca wheeled an exhausted looking Lucas in.

"Tired Broody?" Brooke asked as she got up and walked over to him. She stood by the side of his bed and gently ran her hand through his soft blond hair.

Lucas nodded sleepily.

"Well you sleep all day when we get back."

Lucas nodded again, taking Brooke's hand and pulling her down to sit on the bed her was in.

"Mr. Scott?" A voice asked from the doorway.

"I hate being called that," Lucas mumbled. "It makes me feel old or like Dan."

Brooke laughed lightly and turned to face the woman who was standing in the doorway.

"My name is Cynthia Hendricks, I'm from the billing department," she said as she entered the room.

Lucas sighed deeply at hearing what she was therefore.

"Hi," Lucas said politely, extending his hand out to shake hers.

"Hi," She replied kindly. "I just have to take some preliminary information now if that's okay with you."

"Why not."

"Okay," She said and opened a folder. "First, do you have your medical insurance information with you?"

"No," Lucas said tiredly. He couldn't even remember the last time he used his insurance; nothing had gone wrong lately, and when something minor did, it usually had to do with basketball so the team paid for the medical bills.

"Okay," Cynthia nodded. "I assume you'll be using the insurance to help pay for the expenses?" She said in a fairly cold tone, clearly not caring that she was talking to a college student and they had run half a dozen expensive tests last night alone.

"Actually," Brooke spoke up for the first time. "I would like pay for all the expenses," Brooke said quietly but confidently. In the past minute since the words 'billing department' rang through the room, a flood of unfortunate memories clouded Brooke's mind. She remembered clearly how Keith had to sell his garage to pay for Lucas' medical bills after the car accident, and how it was Dan who had paid for all of Lucas' HCM medication and his surgery. There was no way that Lucas, not even through with college, would be able to pay for this, and there was no way that she was going to let Karen struggle to pay this bill either.

"Brooke," Lucas said softly, shaking his head.

Brooke shook her head in return, taking his hand gently to silence him. She wasn't going to back down from this.

"Please Lucas, let me do this," she said softly. Brooke knew that his pride would be a serious factor in this; Lucas didn't want to feel like his rich girlfriend was taking care of everything for him.

"Brooke," Lucas tried again, not knowing what to say after. He was flattered that she would do this for him, but for some reason he felt like he couldn't let her.

"Just let me do this for you, okay?" Brooke tried again, desperately wanting to help him.

Lucas held a strong gaze with her, trying to read if there was something more than she was letting on. He couldn't find anything except a pleading love and desire to help him. Lucas nodded slowly and hesitantly, knowing that it would have been extremely difficult for him and Karen to pay for the hospital bills.

"Thank you," Brooke whispered.

"Alright," Cynthia's voice broke them out of their intense gaze. "Miss Davis if you could come with me to fill out some paper work."

"Of course," Brooke said politely but still keeping her eyes on Lucas. She stood and moved over him, placing a gentle kiss on his lips, and then one more on his forehead that made him sigh in comfort as she whispered "I love you" against his skin. "Watch some TV or something. I'm sure ESPN's on," Brooke suggested. "Better yet, why don't you get some sleep, and then when I'm done we can get you out of here and back home."

Lucas nodded, whispering one more "thanks" before Brooke left the room.

After the door of the room closed, Lucas let his head fall heavily on the pillow; he was beginning to feel helpless. He was confined to bed rest, stuck alone in a hospital room, and Brooke was paying for everything. He felt stuck and slightly claustrophobic; no there would definitely be no sleeping now, even if he was tired. There was no way he could voluntarily close his eyes now.

Lucas reached over for the remote and turned on the TV, quickly settling into some baseball highlights on Sports Center.

* * *

"Luke," Brooke whispered, shaking his shoulder slightly to try to get him to wake up. Much to his chagrin, Lucas had fallen asleep as he watched TV. Sleep became too much of a necessity for his tired body and he gave in just over an hour before Brooke came back into his room, finished with the paper work and ready to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.

"Lucas," Brooke tried again. To Brooke's dismay, he stirred slightly but didn't wake. Brooke's eyes turned slightly devious as she leaned down barely centimeters from Lucas' ear. "Lucassss," Brooke barely whispered, letting her hot breath flow down his neck. She placed a tender kiss just below his ear and for a brief moment let her tongue roll across his smooth skin. She smiled against him when she felt his hand gently take a hold of her waist.

"Broooooke," Lucas opened his eyes whispered back playfully before pulling her down onto the bed next to him, causing her to yelp in surprise. "Hi!" Lucas grinned boyishly.

"Hi," Brooke matched his tone. "You ready to go home?"

"More than ready," Lucas said. Lucas looked down and noticed that his IVs were missing. "Hey, what happened?"

"You were out like a light, so they came in and took out the stuff while you were sleeping," Brooke explained.

Lucas scrunched up his face. "I feel oddly violated."

Brooke laughed and got up from the bed. "Come on," Brooke said as she helped him sit up. Lucas stopped short when he let his legs hang over the edge of the bed.

"Dizzy?" Brooke asked and Lucas nodded. "The doctor said that would happen, that's why you have to stay in bed for two days or so."

Lucas nodded again as he regained his balance and slowly moved to stand.

"I also have your prescription. It had instructions that we can look at later because according to your nurse, you're still covered with the stuff they were giving you," Brooke explained as she handed him his sweats. "You have a quick appointment next week to get the stitches out," Brooke said shuddering slightly as she looked at the sewed up cut on his forehead that was no longer covered by a bandage. "Now all you have to do is sign your discharge papers at the desk and then Nathan and Haley will take us back to you're place, okay?" Brooke said, finding it a little scary that Lucas was _so_ quiet.

"Yeah," Lucas said. "Sorry, I'm just trying not to go vertigo here."

"Well it's a good thing that we have these," Rebecca smiled from the doorway with a wheelchair.

"Thank god," Lucas muttered; as helpless as he felt, he also didn't want to collapse after taking a few steps. He pulled his sweatshirt over his head and then carefully sat down in the wheelchair.

"You go ahead and sign out," Brooke told him. "I'm just going to check to make sure I didn't leave anything in here."

Lucas nodded and then felt himself be pushed out of the room and rolled down the hall to the front desk on that floor.

Brooke stayed behind and looked around the room one last time. She was amazing that although they had only been there for just over 12 hours, it had felt like days.

Seeing that she had everything, Brooke happily turned and left the room. No one liked to be in hospitals, but Brooke hated them especially because she found that every time she was in one, it was because of one of the Scotts. Nathan or Lucas, it didn't matter, they were both important to her and it killed her to see them so helpless.

Brooke met Lucas and the nurse who was helping him at the elevator. She was practically counting down the seconds until she could leave the place. Once they got downstairs Nathan and Haley were waiting for them outside. Once they were in the car and on their way, they all let out a collective sigh of relief as they left the hospital, silently vowing to themselves not to have to be at another one for a very long time.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**

**P.S.- please PM me if I'm taking a while to update in the future **


	19. Chapter 19

**Here's chapter 19! **

**Thanks to everyone who left amazing reviews!!!!!**

**This chapter is a little shorter than the other, and for that I'm sorry, but I've been pretty busy and a little distracted lately.**

**I've been spending a lot of time formulating a new story (i haven't started writing it yet, but that will come within the next few days). If you want a plot preview then PM me. It'll be AU, a little more emotional, and very different than the rest of my stories, but it's much more important to me (for personal reasons).**

**Enough of me, here's the next chapter: **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Brooke," Rachel repeated for the third time. 

"Yeah?" Brooke asked lazily, never taking her eyes off of the fabric in her hands. She was supposed to be sewing, but saying she was distracted would be an understatement.

She was clearly thinking about Lucas.

* * *

_Flashback- a week an a half ago_

_"I shouldn't be leaving you," Brooke insisted as Nathan took the last of her bags down to the car. Nathan would be taking Brooke to the airport, leaving Haley to take care of Lucas who was still on strict bed rest._

_"You need to go back," Lucas told her._

_"I need to be with my boyfriend who ne—"_

_"Brooke," Lucas cut her off. "Please, you're making this harder for me."_

_"I'm making it harder for you?" Brooke asked incredulously as she stood up from the bed._

_"Yeah. I don't want you to go. I want you to stay here and I never want to be away from you again," Lucas explained. "But this is your job; your responsibility. You've been away long enough."_

_"Bu—"_

_"But we will see each other again in two weeks, and after that we won't have to separate again."_

_"I just…" Brooke trailed off and sighed as she laid back down on the bed and snuggled up next to Lucas._

_"I know," Lucas soothed her as he ran and comforting hand up and down her arm. "It's gonna suck, but we're going to talk everyday, and we're both going to be busy so the time will pass quickly."_

_"You really believe that?"_

_"No," Lucas said without changing his tone. "I think these two weeks are going to be hell without you, but I think that if I say this enough, then I might be able to convince at least one of us that it'll be easier than we know it will be."_

_"You're kinda crazy, you know that?" Brooke asked, snuggling closer into him and inhaling deeply._

_"Yeah, I get that from you."_

_"If you didn't have a concussion I'd probably hit you."_

_"I know."_

_They were silent for a few seconds._

_"I still don't want to go."_

_"And I still don't want you to, but you have to," Lucas said softly. "You're going to go back to your life with Rachel, and get tons of work done, okay?"_

_"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"_

_Lucas chuckled at the fact that she seemed to hear but not acknowledge his comment._

_"I'll be okay. I have the guys and Nathan and Haley's already gone into mommy mode, plus I'm pretty sure that my mom will be calling every other hour for the next two weeks."_

_Brooke chuckled for a moment, knowing he was right about Haley and Karen._

_"Brooke! We gotta go!" They heard Nathan call from downstairs._

_"I guess that's my cue, huh?"_

_"I guess so."_

_"I love you," Brooke said before giving him a soft kiss._

_"I love you too, pretty girl." Lucas said smiling back. "Now go."_

_Brooke nodded sadly and got up from the bed._

_"Go," Lucas mouthed one last time before Brooke reluctantly turned and left._

_Lucas started up at the ceiling as he heard the bedroom door click. She hadn't even left the house yet and he was already missing her like crazy. _

_

* * *

_

"Brooke!" Rachel said sternly, grabbling Brooke's hands, causing her to drop the fabric and the needle she was holding.

"What?" Brooke finally looked up annoyed.

"Don't you see what you're doing?" Rachel asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Okay," Rachel said down in front of Brooke and prepared for what could turn into an ugly conversation. "You've been back what? 10 days?"

"Almost exactly," Brooke said as she glanced at the clock on the other side of her office.

"And you've been distracted the whole time," Rachel said, trying to keep her composure. "You can barely focus on this _business_. You know, you're responsibility?"

"Rachel," Brooke sighed, not wanting to start this, _again_.

"You've haven't finished nearly as many dresses as you should have by now, you haven't done any publicity since you've gotten back, _and_ you're leaving again in two days, don't you see what's wrong here?"

"I'm just worried about him, okay?"

* * *

_Flashback, 7 days ago_

_"Hey broody," Brooke answed the phone cheerfully as she settled back down on her couch and paused the show she was watching._

_"How'd you know it was me?"_

_"Caller ID," Brooke said as if it was obviously._

_"Right,"_

_"Anyway, how are you? How was day one of not having to stay in bed?"_

_"It was okay," Lucas said, trying to stifle a yawn._

_"Tired?"_

_"Very, and I didn't even do that much. I just walked around the house to get some of my books to study and I sat out on the porch for a while. That's it and I'm exhausted."_

_"Well you're doctor said that you'd be tired for a while and that's part of the reason why you're supposed to take it easy."_

_"I know," Lucas muttered frustrated._

_"Speaking of, how are the headaches? Are you still taking the pain killers?" Brooke asked._

_"I took one this morning, but compared to the first 36 hours, the pain is practically non existent."_

_"That's good."_

_"Yeah," Lucas said, slightly relieved at his own words. "So how are things with you?" Lucas was already missing Brooke like crazy, just like she was missing him. He missed seeing her next to him when he woke up and holding her as he went to sleep at night. There was also her sweet scent that he would breath in every time he held her, or the jokes they made about anyone or anything, and then there was everything that they had done together during that short week. He just missed her bubbly attitude and the overall effect that he presence had on him._

_"Lots and lots of work," Brooke sighed. "Sketches and sewing and meetings and Rachel."_

_"Ah."_

_"Yeah," Brooke leaned back farther into the couch. "I had a really long day and to be honest, I don't want to talk about work. Tell me more about what's going on with you."_

_"Uhh," Lucas thought for a moment. " Lot's of studying and study groups."_

_"Groups?"_

_"Yeah, people keep coming over and we all go over whatever it is we have to do together so that we don't go crazy doing all by ourselves or something."_

_"And who might be in one of these groups?"_

_"Whyyyy?"_

_"I'm just curious."_

_"Sure you are."_

_"Whatever," Brooke mumbled. "Besides studying, what else is going on?"_

_Lucas took a deep breath before continuing. "My mom calls way too much, and Haley is going to be the most over protective mother ever."_

_"We're all just…worried about you."_

_"You don't have to worry."_

_"I know I don't have to, but I do."_

_"And I love you for it."  
"I love you to, but that's not going to stop it."_

* * *

"Worried," Rachel muttered to herself. "I get that, okay? But can you please listen to me close for a second?"

Brooke set the pen she was fiddling with down, leaned back in her chair and waited for Rachel to continue.

"Lucas is a college athlete, right?" Rachel asked Brooke, waiting for an answer to make sure she was still listening.

"No shit."

"How many times do you think he's gotten punched in a fight? Or how many times do you think that he's sprained his ankles or his wrists? How about the times when he gets sick and feels so awful that he can barely get out of bed?"

"What's you're point?" Brooke asked annoyed.

"I know you're worried about him, but he's doing better and I'm sure that you know he's been in bad shape before, so clearly this is more than worrying about him."

" Okay Dr. Phil," Brooke said annoyance and just a trace of hesitation because Rachel guessed right. "What's the big problem here?"

"You're going to see him in two days; you're going to go down there for graduation, then go back to Tree Hill for a night, then you're _both_ coming up here for the summer."

"Point being?" Brooke was now walking a fine line between frustrated and straight up pissed off.

* * *

_"So did you book a flight?" Lucas asked hopefully as his voice rang through Brooke's office on speaker phone._

_"I did, and I e-mailed you the information so you can come pick me up.'_

_"I'll be there."_

_"So what's going to happen once I get there?"_

_"Um, dinner at my place with all the families; I think my mom's cooking that one. Then the next morning is the actual graduation, then Nathan, Haley, and I load up as many of our boxes as we can into that U-haul and then….and then we say goodbye to the guys and head back to Tree Hill for the night."_

_"Sounds good, but what about after that?" Brooke asked, pushing the subject into slightly dangerous waters._

_"Then I go to New York with you for…for as long as I can."_

_"That's a nice euphemism."_

_"Yeah, look, I know that getting drafted to a team that's not in New York is a really big thing for us right now, but I would much rather talk about that when we're face to face and not on the phone."_

_Brooke nodded, but then said 'okay' when she realized that he couldn't see her._

_"So how's work going?"_

_Brooke just sighed._

* * *

"My point is that it's only two weeks and then you get to go back to that damn paradise that you live in while you two are together."

"I still don't see what the problem is!" Brooke was now coming dangerously close to yelling.

"Two fucking weeks!" Rachel yelled slowly, shocking herself. She had tried to stay calm throughout the confrontation, but now Brooke was just being stubborn. "Look around you Brooke, take a step back and look at what you've been like since you came back here."

Brooke stayed silent, not moving a muscle as she and Rachel locked glares.

"_This_," Rachel said motioning to Brooke and then around them. "Is exactly why he broke up with you three years ago. _This_ is exactly what he _didn't_ want for you."

And with that, Rachel left the room.

* * *

That night Brooke sat on her couch with her pajamas on and a big fluffy pillow held closely to her chest, as if it could protect her from the thoughts running through her head.

Brooke hadn't talked to Rachel since the fiery redhead left her office earlier that day. Brooke hated the fact that Rachel had been right. In fact, hate was an understatement. Angry, disappointed, and stressed were three words that were better fit to describe Brooke at the moment.

She was angry and disappointed herself for letting her thoughts of Lucas hinder her progress at work, something she promised she wouldn't let happen since Lucas had ended things with them to make sure that that didn't happen.

She was beyond stressed; worrying about Lucas, work, and the uncertain future that lay before her was enough to tire her out to the point where exhaustion was an understatement.

Speaking of stressed, that was probably why she was two weeks late….right?

Before Brooke could freak out with thoughts of that _possibility_, Rachel walked into the living room.

"Hey," Rachel said softly as she sat down on the opposite side of the couch as Brooke.

"I didn't hear you come in."

"The rest of the work day was fine, thank you. I'm really glad that you're so concerned."

Brooke closed her eyes and breathed deeply. With her most recent revelation, Rachel's attitude was the last thing she needed to deal with.

"I unlocked the door quietly," Rachel said softly. "I'm going to get a glass of wine before we start. Do you want one?"

"Yeah," Brooke said. "Acutally, no." If she was….god she couldn't even think the word, but if she was, then she wasn't going to drink.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked, eying Brooke carefully from the doorway.

"Yeah."

Rachel left and Brooke let out a long sigh and ran her hands through her hair.

"So," Rachel said as she sat back down with a glass of red wine in her hand.

"You were absolutely right earlier," Brooke said quietly.

"I know, but I'm glad that you're admitting it."

Brooke nodded. "There's just a lot going on with me and with Lucas and I right now, and I just…"

"I understand."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "Whatever is going on, you two will get through it. You and I both know that."

Brooke raised an eyebrow at Rachel's sensitivity.

"Look, as sickening as it is to deal with the unbelievably high level of cheesiness that you to emit, even I have to admit the fact that you two are meant to be or whatever."

"Thanks," Brooke said so quietly, it was almost inaudible.

"Yeah, let's not get too mushy tonight, alright?"

Brooke nodded with a slight smile.

"Okay seriously, enough with this sad crap, can we just turn on the TV, watch some stupid movie and forget about all the other crazy stuff going on in our lives?"

"Definitely," Brooke smiled genuinely as she grabbed the remote and Rachel scooted closer to her. "So what's going on with you that's so crazy?"

"Ugh," Rachel threw her head back dramatically. "Can you just forget about all of our problems for two minutes? We'll talk about all that stuff later."

"Fine, fine, fine," Brooke said as she tossed Rachel the remote.

* * *

"Rach," Brooke sighed into her cell phone as she got off the plane. "Look, you both are scared to do something more serious, so either you face your fears or you accept that being just casual," Brooke tried giving a very stubborn Rachel advice. "Look, I have to go, but I'll call you tonight…yeah…bye bitch."

Brooke threw her phone into her carry on bag as she walked through the tunnel that led to the terminal.

In the past two days since Rachel confronted her, Brooke threw herself back into her work for the whole time. The whole time with the exception of a doctor's appointment that she discretely slipped out of the office to go to.

"Hey you," Lucas said, coming up behind her as she looked around the terminal for him.

"Jesus!" Brooke exclaimed and jumped, holding a hand to her now pounding heart. "You scared me."

"Clearly," Lucas chuckled and then wrapped her in a big hug. "I missed you, Brooke."

"I missed you too, Luke," Brooke said, burying her face into his chest.

They pulled back and kissed softly. When they parted, they let their foreheads rest against each other's for a minute.

"Come on," Lucas said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her towards baggage claim.

* * *

"Everything alright?" Lucas asked, momentarily taking his eyes off the road to look at her.

"Yeah," Brooke said quietly, not sure if she was lying or not.

Over the past half hour as they drove back to Lucas' house, they had talked about so much; how Lucas was feeling, Brooke's work, what it was like to be graduating, and everything else.

Except what Brooke needed to talk to him about.

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked, hesitantly pushing the question.

"Yeah, there's just something that I need to tell you, but I'm not sure that I should do it while you're driving," Brooke said, attempting to laugh slightly at the end to break the tension that only she could feel.

"Well it's a good thing that I'm done driving," Lucas smirked as he turned onto his street.

"Oh," Brooke said, suddenly feeling her heart racing as she realized that she would now have to tell him.

Brooke thanked her lucky stars when she saw Nathan and Haley waiting on the porch for them.

As soon as Lucas pulled the car to a stop Brooke jumped out and ran up the stairs.

"Hey Nate!" Brooke called as she grabbed Haley's hand and pulled her inside.

"Karen, guys!" Brooke called as she continued to drag Haley quickly through the house, up the stairs, and straight into Lucas' bedroom.

* * *

"Dude, what was that about?" Nathan asked Lucas, still standing out on the porch.

"I have no idea."

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**

**P.S.- please PM me if I'm taking a while to update in the future**

**PPS - okay, i just read through the chapter and i'm a little disappointed with it. its not nearly as detailed as the others, but itll have to do for now. sorry. the next one will be much better. thanks again  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here's chapter 20! **

**Thanks to everyone who left amazing reviews!!!!!**

**Just a warning: there are only a couple chapters left of the story!!! sad i know, but its coming to a close. im not sure exactly how many chapters (3 or something like that) but its only a few.**

**Huge shout out to** CheerandBrood323 **for PM-ing me about updating this. It really helped me get the chapter finished (in fact, i told her it would be up this morning, but i added more to it than i had originally planned, and that's why its a little late).  
**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Brooke?" Lucas asked fairly nervously from outside his bedroom. He knocked lightly but loud enough to hear. "Brooke?" He questioned again, slightly worried about whatever she was hiding from him. 

"Brooke, you have to tell him," Haley chastised quietly from inside the room. She and Brooke were sitting on Lucas' bed.

"I know that," Brooke said in a 'duh' way. "I just don't know _how_ to tell him. That and I'm kinda terrified to hear his reaction."

"You and I both know that he's going to be—"

"No! Whatever you're going to say, don't say it!" Brooke cut Haley off.

"Why not?"

"You'll jinx it or something."

Haley rolled her eyes and got up from the bed.

"I'm going downstairs to help set up for later," Haley said. "You need to talk to Lucas. Now!"

"Ugh!" Brooke groaned.

Haley sent one last sympathetic look towards Brooke and then headed out the door, almost running into Lucas. "Be…gentle with her," Haley said quietly, not really sure what words to use to prepare Lucas for what he was about to hear. She had been terrified to tell Nathan the same news less than three months earlier, but it had all turned out great for them. Then again, she and Nathan had a set future; he would get drafted and Haley would follow him because they were married.

Brooke and Lucas' future was a different story. Although she knew they would end up together, it would be a rocky road ahead of them. The distance would be a problem no matter what, but with this added…situation, things were bound to get complicated fast.

"Brooke?" Lucas questioned softly. Closing the door behind him and slowly approaching her.

"Hey," Brooke said, offering a sheepish smile.

"What's going on?" Lucas said as he pulled his desk chair to the edge of the bed so that he could sit in front of her.

* * *

Haley quickly made her way downstairs and into the kitchen where she found the mothers and their sons talking 'together'. 

"Hey," Nathan smiled as Haley entered.

"Hey," Haley tried to smile back. She was worried; not necessarily about how Lucas was going to take the news, but more about how Brooke was handling the whole thing.

"Is everything alright up there?" Karen asked, watching Haley intently for any sign of what Brooke was freaking out about.

"Yeah," Haley said unconvincingly.

"Hales, what's going on?" Nathan questioned and everyone's attention was turned to Haley.

"Don't say 'nothing'," Deb cut in before Haley could answer. "We all know that something's going on."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I can tell you. Brooke would actually kill me if I told you guys."

"Is everything okay?" Karen asked concerned.

"Yeah, Brooke's just trying to…," Haley trailed off. "You know what? I'm going to stop talking before I say something I shouldn't."

"Maybe we should beat it out of her," Deb suggested jokingly.

They all laughed it off, but all wondered what was going on with Brooke upstairs.

* * *

"Okay," Brooke started. One word at a time, right?

Lucas waited for her to continue.

She didn't.

"I'm not a mind reader here, and I really want to help you with whatever's going on, but in order for me to do that, you need to help me out a little here," Lucas said kindly.

"Right," Brooke said quietly. _Just tell him_! she told herself. "Right," she repeated.

Brooke dared for just a moment to look up and meet his eyes. As soon as she did she quickly looked down again, afraid that if he looked into her eyes, he would be able to tell how scared of all this she was.

Lucas gently placed two fingers under her chin, and after her initial resisting, he was able to lift her head up so that her eyes met his.

"What if I told you something that would change just about everything," Brooke said softly.

"I would say that I'm gonna love you no matter what."

"But this is kinda huge."

"Then we'll get through it together," Lucas told her gently but sternly. "Brooke, is everything alright?"

"I'm so scared," she said almost inaudibly, her voice cracking just enough for Lucas to realized she was close to tears.

"Please tell me," Lucas pleaded with her, so worried that he wasn't frustrated anymore.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered.

And then there was silence.

"What?" Lucas asked, finally finding his voice.

Brooke looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him not to make her say it again.

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked, remembering their scare in junior year.

Brooke nodded. "I went to the doctor yesterday."

"You're…we're…" Lucas couldn't finish his sentence. The thought was mind blowing.

"Lucas, I'm so—" Brooke tried to apologize.

"We're having a baby?" Lucas asked.

Brooke hesitated, but nodded. She hadn't really though about all of it in that way. It was more of an 'I'm pregnant' thought than 'Lucas and I are going to have a baby' thought.

"We're gonna have a baby," Lucas stated this time, smiling widely and letting out a sharp breath in happiness.

Brooke nodded and offered him her best smile, which was actually fairly weak.

"Oh my god," Lucas couldn't stop smiling now. Brooke didn't understand why he was suddenly so happy about this. "Oh my god," he repeated before jumping out of the chair and taking and unsuspecting Brooke into his arms.

"You're happy?" Brooke asked incredulously as Lucas laid her down on the bed and then lay down next to her.

"Of course I am," Lucas said and then kissed her.

"But we're 22!" Brooke said as pulled out of the kiss and tried to understand why he wasn't as scared as she was.

"So?"

"What do you mean, _so_?" Brooke asked in disbelief. "I mean we're still so young, and we're not married, and our future together is still pretty uncertain and—"

"I don't care about any of that."

"Why not?"

"Because we're going to have a family, Brooke," Lucas couldn't stop the smile that graced his face as he spoke. He had barely known for two minutes and he could already see the next twenty years of his life ahead again, and he couldn't wait to live it. "Because now our future is certain; now our future is you, me, and our child," Lucas said, letting his fingers lightly brush over Brooke's still fit stomach. "And I'm not going to let anything get in the way of that. I love you, Brooke Davis."

Brooke felt her eyes sting;_ here come the tears again_, she thought.

"I love you too, Lucas Scott," Brooke said smiling.

"I'm scared," Brooke whispered after a minute of silence, barely able to get the words out before she let out one single sob.

"Brooke," Lucas said softly, repositioning himself so that he could look down on her. "Pretty girl," he said even softer as he brushed away her tears. "Don't be scared…I'm here for you. We're gonna do this together," he tried to reassure her, but seeing her so scared and vulnerable broke his heart.

"I just…" Brooke couldn't speak anymore, she was breathing shakily in hopes to suppress the urge she had to cry. After a few seconds, her breathing controlled and she tried speak again, but the tears once again threatened to fall.

"Brooke, look at me," Lucas said softly.

Brooke was scared to look him in the eye, but when she did, she was almost surprised at what she saw; certainty.

"Take a deep breath," Lucas kindly ordered and Brooke obliged. "Now I want you to picture something for me, okay?"

Brooke nodded.

"Picture a moment 5 years from now on a Sunday morning and—"

"Oh god this is going to be cheesy isn't it?" Brooke asked, a small smile appearing on her face.

Lucas nodded happily. "It definitely is….Look, I know you're worried about so many things right now, and I could probably guess half of them because I'm thinking the same thing."

"So then how are you so sure that everything's going to be okay?"

"I just am," Lucas shrugged. "And maybe I'll be able to explain that to you sometime in the future, but right now, I just know that."

Brooke gave him a half smile; she was still terrified, but the more she thought about the idea of a family with Lucas, the more it seemed like the perfect life to live.

Brooke looked at Lucas curiously as he began to inch his way down the bed. She tensed when she felt him brush the soft fabric of her top away and place a chaste kiss on her stomach. Brooke relaxed at that and somehow smiled when she heard the innocence in Lucas' voice as he mumbled 'I can't believe we're having a baby' into her stomach.

* * *

"It's about time!" Karen exclaimed as Brooke and Lucas walked into the kitchen some time later. Karen went over and enveloped Brooke in a huge hug, which Brooke gladly settled into.

"Sorry," Brooke offered.

"Is everything okay?" Karen asked, her motherly worry returning as she watched Brooke greet everyone else.

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine."

"Everything's great," Lucas corrected her.

Together they had decided to keep their news a secret for a while. With they exception of Nathan, Haley, and Rachel – who already knew from being at the doctor's with Brooke – no one would know. They finally understood why Nathan and Haley had kept their pregnancy a secret for so long; they weren't at all ashamed or anything like that, but they wanted to keep it solely theirs for a while. They wanted to enjoy the idea by themselves before the whole world had to know.

Lucas wrapped his arms around Brooke, discretely placing his hands on her stomach; a gesture that had no significance to most people in the room, but it meant everything to Brooke and Lucas.

* * *

Dinner went smoothly that night. Everyone got a long well and enjoyed themselves which Lucas and Nathan jokingly attributed that to the fact that Dan wouldn't be arriving until the next day.

Everyone had gathered in the living room to discuss the next day and plans after that.

"Where's Lucas?" Brooke asked as she and Haley got comfortable on one of the couches.

"He's on the phone," Nathan said as he came into the room and got settled next to Haley.

"Is everything alright?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, as far as I know," Nathan said. Nathan was trying to act as normal as possible, but it was kind of hard considering Lucas had also just told him that Brooke was pregnant and he really wanted to say something, but knowing that they, like he and Haley had, wanted to keep it a secret, he kept his mouth shut.

"So Brooke," Karen said. "Am I going to get my son back after graduation, or what?" She asked jokingly.

"Sorry," Brooke guiltily replied.

"What are you're plans?" Deb asked.

"Um, we're going back to Tree Hill tomorrow night, and then after that we're heading to New York."

"For how long?" Brett's mother asked, oblivious to the situation that Brooke and Lucas were in.

"We're uh, not really sure," Brooke replied politely as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"You guys are going up too, right?" Karen asked Nathan and Haley, trying to change the subject a little which earned her a grateful look from Brooke.

"Yeah, at the end of next month for the Draft," Nathan said unable to control his soaring heart rate every time he mentioned the draft. He had been waiting for this for his entire life and now it was actually within reach.

Brooke excused herself from the conversation as it began to focus more on basketball and went in search for Lucas who was still missing.

As she wandered around the house, she found him on the back steps just off the kitchen.

"Hey there broody," Brooke said, poking fun at the serious face he had on.

"Hey," he smiled brightly at seeing her, but there was still a troubled expression on his face.

"Is everything alright?" Brooke asked as she brought him inside so that she could get a drink of water from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I uh just needed to talk to someone," Lucas said.

"Please don't do that," Brooke almost begged him already.

"Do what?"

"Do that cryptic thing where you keep everything to yourself," Brooke told him, terrified for a moment that the closed off Lucas was going to start appearing again.

"Oh no, I was just…I was on the phone with my agent, you know the one that Coach K set Nathan and me up with?" Lucas started.

"Yeah, once again I'll ask, is everything alright?"

"Yes," Lucas said assuredly. "I just told him that if he can't get me a deal with the Knicks, then I'm removing myself from the draft."

"What!" Brooke yelled.

"Please don't yell," Lucas asked softly. "Can I explain?"

"You better!" Brooke voice had lowered in volume but not in tone.

"Look," Lucas started. "I know that there is a _huge_ possibility that we'll get split up, and I can't have that. I need to be with you and I need to be with our child," Lucas said the last part quietly.

"Lucas I can't let you do this," Brooke said shaking her head.

"Why not? This is what I want to do, this is what I _need_ to do."

"No," Brooke said adamantly. "What if you can't get this deal or contract or whatever, and then you quit playing basketball forever. What next? What are you going to do with your life? And don't even think for a second that you won't resent me for having to make this decision."

"I wo—"

"Don't say that, because in ten years when Nathan is still playing and you're not, you'll resent me, and I can live with that, but I can't live with you resenting our child."

"Listen to me," Lucas said sternly, taking a hold of her arms and staring straight into her eyes. "I'm not going to regret this. The only thing I could ever regret would be us being separated."

"No!" Brooke yelled this time. "Lucas I can't let you do this!"

"Brooke it's what I want to do!" Lucas was raising his voice now too, trying to get his point across.

"UGH!" Brooke groaned and tried to calm herself. She was definitely failing.

* * *

"Okay, what's going on back there?" Marcus asked, slightly afraid of the Brooke and Lucas argument they could hear in the next room.

"Don't worry about it," Nathan waved it off. "This is what they do."

"It sounds dysfunctional, but it doesn't happen too much anymore," Haley added.

"Fighting?" Marcus' mother asked.

"They usually fight about something that proves how much they love each other," Karen said. "And end up with some big declaration of 'I love you's'."

"Oh," the other mothers said. This was all very weird to them, but being from Tree Hill and knowing Brooke and Lucas, this was pretty normal.

* * *

"Lucas," Brooke said more softly this time. "Just picture your life in the future without basketball. After everything you've been through to get to this point, can you really give it up and not have any regrets?"

"I'd be lying if I said I was never going to miss it, but I would never regret that decision because saying I regretted it would mean that I would rather be away from you than be with you," Lucas tried to explain. "Now I want you to picture something for me."

"What?" Brooke asked, trying to still sound angry.

"Picture a moment in the future; a milestone of any sort in your life or our child's life…Am I there?"

"Of course," Brooke relented.

* * *

"You think they're okay?" Karen asked.

"Yeah, they've just got some stuff to work through," Nathan said.

"Yeah…wait, what are you talking about?" Haley said, turning to face Nathan completely. She was almost positive that he didn't know that Brooke was pregnant. And if he didn't know, then what was he talking about?

"I'm talking about—wait, what are _you_ talking about?" Nathan asked, both of their eyes widening a bit.

"Maybe we should go see what's going on in there," Haley suggested.

"Yeah," Nathan agreed. "We'll be right back," he said as they got up to leave. Everyone else in the room was definitely curious now, if not suspicious.

* * *

"Then you know that I have to do this," Lucas continued.

"But—"

"I'm not being forced or influenced or anything like that," Lucas said firmly. "This is what I want to do."

"And if this thing with the Knicks doesn't work out," Brooke said, giving up on arguing with him. "What will you do then?"

"Then I want to get my book published," Lucas said confidently.

Seeing the seriousness in Lucas' eyes she sighed and took a step back.

"How long have you been thinking about this?" Brooke asked.

"Thinking about what?" Haley asked as she and Nathan entered the kitchen.

"Thinking about giving up basketball," Brooke answered for them.

"What?" Haley asked. Nathan quickly explained it to her, realizing that neither Brooke nor Lucas wanted to repeat what they had just been talking about.

"How long?" Brooke asked again, needing to know if this was an impulsive decision that he made after he found out that she was pregnant.

"Since I got on the bus to leave you in New York two months ago," Lucas said quietly. "This isn't something that just popped into my head, okay? I've been considering this for a long time and this baby just shows me even more that I need to do this."

"Baby?" Nathan asked.

Brooke nodded and smiled, wiping the tears from her face that fell as Lucas spoke to her.

"Come here," Lucas said and wrapped Brooke in a hug.

"Wow," Nathan said and Haley nodded in agreement.

* * *

"So how does it feel?" Brooke asked Lucas as he took his graduation cap off. He had just finished what he insisted would be his final round of pictures. Karen and Deb were going a little overboard with pictures; trying to immortalize the moment for the reluctant graduates.

"Weird," Lucas said, still getting used to the fact that he no longer had to go to school. "I mean, it's, hmm," Lucas tried to think of the words.

"Tongue tied, Broody?" Brooke asked.

"A little," Lucas admitted. "It's pretty incredible though; to realize that after all the late night study sessions and essays and all that stuff, I actually made it through."

"It's quite an accomplishment."

"Yeah, that and the fact that I'm not a student anymore, I'm a real person."

Brooke laughed a little at his bewildered expression.

"The real world's not so bad baby," Brooke said with a glint of mischief in her eyes and the raspy voice that made Lucas go weak at the knees.

Before Lucas could even think of a response Nathan, Haley, Deb, Karen, and Dan walked up.

"You guys ready to go?" Nathan asked.

"Go where?" Brooke asked.

"Party," Haley said as if it was obvious.

"What?" Brooke asked. "First of all it's like one in the afternoon, two, what about _them_," Brooke said, not so discretely motioning to the parents.

"We're going back home," Karen told Brooke.

"Already?"

"Yeah, we're going to bring back most of the luggage and stuff so you can all go and have fun, and then we'll see you late tonight."

"Seriously?" Brooke asked, raising an eyebrow at the fact that Karen was practically telling them to go party.

"Yes," Karen said. "And I know what you're thinking Brooke, but you're all now officially _adults_, so you can go do whatever you want."

"Oh god," Nathan groaned at the term adult. "Please tell me this is all a dream and we're still in our junior year of high school or something. Please tell me I don't actually have to be responsible now."

"I'm afraid so," Haley said, laughing at the fact that this is when Nathan realized he had responsibilities. Of course it wasn't when he got married!

Everyone exchanged quick goodbyes, knowing that they'd see each other late that night and headed off.

The parents got in the cars that filled to capacity with luggage and the no longer kids headed to their cars to go to the first party of the afternoon.

* * *

"Whatcha thinking about?" Brooke asked Lucas at around 11:30. They were about almost in Tree Hill and Lucas had one of his brooding faces on as he drove.

"I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it's really all over."

Brooke giggled a little and nodded.

"I figured it was something like that."

"Yeah, I guess I'm a little predictable."

"A little," Brooke giggled. The truth was that not a lot of people could figure out what Lucas was thinking, so no; he wasn't predictable; unless it was Brooke whom he was with. Brooke knew him well enough that sometimes she could tell what he was thinking, but most of the time, he still surprised her.

"It's all just really weird," Lucas continued.

"What do you mean?"

"Like I know exactly what I want and what I'm going to do and everything, but there are still so many possibilities. Like some people leave college having no idea what to do next and some leaving having their lives planned out for them. I feel like I kinda got stuck in the middle."

"What do you mean 'stuck in the middle'?" Brooke asked

"Well I know that I'm going to end up in New York with you, but I don't know if I'll be a writer or a basketball player. And I know that we're going to have a baby and I know what that means for the rest of our lives, but I don't know if it's a boy or a girl, or which one of us he or she will look like….just stuff like that."

"Ohhh," Brooke said. "Is this a good or a bad thing?"

"It's definitely not a bad thing, but it's…it's comforting but mysterious at the same time."

Brooke nodded, choosing to stay silent as she contemplated Lucas' words.

They were both silent for a while after that, deciding without words that they would just finish the conversation later.

Twenty minutes later Brooke was almost sleeping with her head against the window when Lucas finally spoke again.

"Look at that," Lucas smiled.

"What?" Brooke asked as she lifted her head up just in time to see the 'Welcome to Tree Hill' sign passing by them.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews! Preferably with some suggestions/opinions. For instance; do you want Lucas to be a writer or basketball player?  
**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**

**P.S.- please PM me if I'm taking a while to update in the future**


	21. Chapter 21

**Here's chapter 21! **

**Thanks to everyone who left amazing reviews!!!!!**

**Just a warning: there are only going to be two more chapters after this one.  
**

**Huge shout out to** CheerandBrood323 **for PM-ing me about updating this. It really helped me get the chapter finished (in fact, i told her it would be up this morning, but i added more to it than i had originally planned, and that's why its a little late).**

**I had promised a few people that I would post this by tonight, and that's why it's a little short. That and because I'm starting to get a little writer's block (yes, I know, they're the two most dreaded words on this site) with the ending. So my apologies for the unusually short length with this one.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was a weird realization, Brooke thought; one that brought her happiness and a sense of loss at the same time. 

It was almost noon now as Brooke sat on the steps outside of Lucas' bedroom door. They had gotten up early to have breakfast at the café with most of the old gang. After breakfast she and Lucas had decided to walk around the town. It was a beautiful morning and it really wasn't necessary to go back home yet, so they walked.

It was when they were walking that Brooke came to her realization, and now she was pondering it as she sat alone outside. She told Lucas, who was inside packing, that she just needed some fresh air to make a few calls, but really she just wanted to think.

Tree Hill would always be her true home; she knew that much. But what she discovered today was that her life really was in New York. The new Brooke Davis thrived in that city.

When she walked around the town, taking in all of the places that used to mean so much to her, she found that the Brooke she pictured in those places was the insecure and vulnerable cheerleader she would never allow herself to be again. In high school she was reckless in order to try to figure out what was important to her. Now she knew for sure; it was her friends, her job, and most of all, the blond hair- blue eyed boy that stole her heart.

She was ready to move on from the Tree Hill-cheerleader-party girl- Brooke Davis and completely into the New York – successful designer – mature – Brooke Davis.

"I thought brooding was my job."

Brooke snapped her head around to see Lucas with a concerned but amused expression on his face.

"Well you've been so happy lately that someone has to brood for us," Brooke said, smiling back as Lucas took a seat on the steps next to her.

"You're not happy?" Lucas asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion and worry for a moment.

"That's not what I meant," Brooke reassured him.

"If something's wrong here then we don—"

"Lucas," Brooke interrupted him calmly. "I haven't been this happy in a long time."

"Oh, good," Lucas said relieved. "Then what's the brooding about?"

"I'm just reminiscing I guess."

"You're ready to go back to New York, aren't you?"

"How'd you know?" Brooke asked.

"You got this weird look on your face every time we passed a memorable place as we were walking through town this morning."

"Yeah," Brooke said quietly. "It's just weird being back here."

Lucas nodded but didn't say anything.

"So we haven't really discussed what you're going to do in New York for the next month," Brooke said, pointing out the sort of limbo month before they found out anything from the NBA.

"Hmmm," Lucas thought. "I figured I'd just work out a lot, maybe write a bit, but mostly just be there with you."

"That sounds great," Brooke said smiling. She leaned into closer to him for a moment, but then the smile fell from her face and she pulled away to look at him.

"Luke?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Lucas responded; his concerned voice was back.

"I know that these past few weeks have been really amazing with me down here so much and stuff, but uh, when we get back to New York…" Brooke trailed off, not knowing what words to use next.

"You'll actually be working?" Lucas filled in for her.

"Yeah," Brooke said. "I mean reallllly working; late nights, non stop phone calls, everything."

"I know," Lucas said. He did know, he was a little apprehensive about it, but it was her life and it has been for the last three years so he knew that it wasn't his place to say anything about it. "I know and I understand," he told her.

"It's going to be…hard," Brooke said.

"That I definitely know," Lucas said and then pulled her back over and into his arms. "But when was it ever easy for us? huh?"

Brooke shrugged from within his embrace. "Never, I guess."

"So then this is just the latest challenge in the Brooke and Lucas saga."

Brooke giggled a little bit. "Saga?" She asked.

Lucas laughed at himself a little. "It sounded good in my head."

"Dork," Brooke muttered playfully.

"Hey!" Lucas fought back. His hands were discretely moving to her sides, and at the moment when she thought that he dropped the subject, he tickled her.

"Lucas!" Brooke screamed from between laughed. "Stop! Please stop!" She was barely able to get the words out she was laughed so much.

"You gotta do something for me," Lucas said. He had stopped tickling her and now held her wrists together and her body under his so that she couldn't fight back.

"No way!" Brooke said, trying to sound convincing between giggles.

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Tell me you love me," Lucas said, his lips inching closer to her.

Brooke shook her head playfully.

"Tell me," Lucas insisted, his lips mere centimeters from hers.

"I love you—"before Brooke could even finish, Lucas lips had crashed into hers.

"I love you too," Lucas whispered after pulling away.

"You better," Brooke bit back playfully before raising her head and capturing his lips again.

* * *

Lucas ran his hand through his hair for what was probably the fifth time in the last two minutes.

The bags were packed and loaded into the car. Nathan and Haley were waiting for them inside the car. He had said good bye to his friends as well as his mother.

Now he was just waiting for Brooke. She was taking longer to say good bye to his mother than he did!

"And you promise to call when you land?" Karen asked Brooke one last time.

"I promise," Brooke reassured her.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you," Karen said, pulling Brooke in for another hug.

"I'm gonna miss you too," Brooke said sincerely. "But we'll be back soon. You and I both know that Lucas can't stay away for too long."

Karen laughed despite her overwhelming sadness that they were leaving. That her son was moving to New York for good.

"Go," Karen ushered Brooke down the steps towards Lucas who looked relieved to see her coming.

Brooke and Lucas waved one last time before getting in the car which promptly drove off.

"You ready to get out of here?" Haley asked from the front seat as she looked in the rearview window to see Brooke and Lucas.

"Yeah," Lucas said, turning to smile at Brooke and take her hand in his. "I think we are."

* * *

"So did you ever think we'd get here?" Lucas asked. He was lying on the bed in a tee shirt and his boxers as he watched Brooke finish brushing her teeth in the bathroom.

Brooke let out a throaty laugh as she turned the light off in the bathroom and crawled into the bed next to him.

Watching her crawl across the king sized bed in the tiny tank top and boy shorts that exposed her smooth skin was enough to make him forget about the question he had just asked her.

"Get where?" Brooke asked as she checked her blackberry one last time.

"_Here_," Lucas repeated, "living together, having a child together, all of it."

Brooke rolled her eyes placed her blackberry back on her nightstand before turning to face Lucas, sitting cross legged on the bed.

"Oh yeah, I totally thought we'd be here when we had the love triangle drama and when we didn't talk for three years," she told him sarcastically.

Lucas rolled his eyes back at her and pulled her closer, adjusting his position so that he was looking down on her as they lay next to each other.

"Any chance that you're going to answer the question seriously?" Lucas asked as he caressed her cheek.

"Yeah, I did," Brooke said confidently. "And it feels good to finally make it here."

"It does," Lucas agreed before leaning down to capture Brooke's lips with his.

"Isn't this fantastic?" Brooke whispered.

"Laying here?"

"Laying here _alone_," Brooke corrected him. "No Karen, or roommates; just you and me."

"I agree, that's pretty fantastic," Lucas said as he began to trail kisses down Brooke's neck, eliciting a soft moan that was like music to his ears.

Lucas readjusted his position so that he was on top of Brooke, resting his weight on his knees on either side of her hips. He continued his trail of kissed down onto her collar bone, and took her waist in his strong hands, raising the fabric of her top so that he could rub small circles on her soft skin.

Brooke's hands found their way to Lucas' hair, gently tugging on his blonds locks. She moved her hands to his shoulders, and then to his perfectly sculpted chest, feeling his ab muscles as she trailed down to the hem of his tee shirt.

Finally breaking his trail of kisses, pulled back just enough for Brooke to take off his shirt and throw it away. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to a sitting position under him so that he could remove her top as well.

They sat their for a moment, staring into each other's eyes; lips swollen and her soft chest pressed against his hard one before Lucas reclaimed Brooke's lips with his and pushed her back down to the bed.

Lucas pinned Brooke's arms above her head; giving him total control over her body. He pulled a small moan from Brooke's lips as he broke the kiss and moved lower down on her body, releasing her arms so that he could use his hands on the rest of her body.

Lucas slowed down his movements as he reached her flat stomach. He placed gentle kisses all over before he suddenly stopped. A thought occurred to him and he smiled against her skin before breaking out into a full laugh and rolling over so that he was on his back on the bed.

Brooke propped herself up on her elbows and raised an eyebrow; not even trying to hide how pissed she was in her expression.

"Please," Brooke said begged facetiously, "enlighten me as to what is so fucking funny right now."

Lucas rolled back over and scooted back up the bed so that he was at Brooke's level.

"I was just thinking that it's no surprise that you're pregnant," Lucas said pointedly. "I mean, we haven't exactly been the poster couple for protection lately."

Brooke considered what he said for a second before letting out a throaty chuckle and falling back to the pillows.

"True," she admitted. "But," she added in a more playful tone, "you'll get back down there if you know what's good for you."

Lucas grinned, placed a quick kiss on her lips before resuming his trial of kisses with even more ardor than before.

* * *

There were some mornings when at 6:30 Brooke would wake up to the increasingly loud sound of her alarm clock, shut it off, then contemplate for a few minutes if it was really worth getting out of bed. It wasn't a depression thing, but more of a laziness one. With her busy schedule of work and working out, her body was more exhausted everyday.

But waking up today, Brooke knew there was a very different reason for her not wanting to get out of bed. It was presence of the warm body next to hers; the arm that was wrapped around her waist and held her close to him.

Brooke tried to wipe the sleepiness from her face and when she opened her eyes again, like every other morning, she knew that she had to go to work. There was never really a morning where she decided to stay in bed and not to go to work because it was her company; her responsibility. It was just the contemplation of not going that kept Brooke in bed for a few minutes everyday. Now, she could already tell, it was going to be a lot harder to get to work each morning with Lucas there with her, because as she looked back at the bed from the bathroom door, all she really wanted was to crawl back into bed with him.

Sighing, she turned on the light and closed the door so not to wake the peacefully sleeping boy in her bed. Actually, it was _their_ bed now, she thought smiling. It was different for Brooke to have to tip toe around someone in the morning before work, but she wouldn't trade it for anything.

* * *

Three hours later a well rested Lucas woke up disappointed to find the other side of the bed empty. Although he wished he could've woken up with Brooke next to him, he was grateful that she had let him sleep because between finals and graduation, he had gotten barely any sleep in the last two weeks.

After getting out of bed, he wandered into the kitchen, pleased to find that Brooke had left a pot of coffee out for him along with note that explained that she'd be at work until 5 and to call her later.

After breakfast and his morning dose of Sports Center, Lucas made his way back into the bedroom to get dressed and decided to start his day with unpacking.

Much to his surprise, Brooke gave Lucas a great deal of closet space. Then again this was because there used to be small room next to the master bedroom which Brooke converted into a _huge _closet.

Four hours later, Lucas had unpacked, gone to the gym, and bought an assortment of baby books from Barnes and Noble. He didn't really want to start reading the books until he was with Brooke, and he wasn't really in the mood to write.

So Lucas found himself standing out the large windows in the living room just thinking, _what now?_

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Please leave lots of long reviews! Preferably with some suggestions for what you want in the last two chapters.**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**

**P.S.- please PM me if I'm taking a while to update in the future**


	22. Chapter 22

**Here's chapter 22!**

**So this chapter is REALLY short. I know, and I'm really sorry for that, but I just couldn't come up with anything for this chapter. But don't worry, the final chapter (the next one) will be much longer.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

In the next minute, Lucas Scott knew that his life was going to change forever. He didn't know which road he was about to take or even if there was a path that he wanted to take more than the other. Right now, all he knew was that things were going to change.

His heart was beating so hard that he could feel it in his head, and he had the urge to hold his breath and close his eyes as he waited. Trying to calm himself, he squeezed a little harder on Brooke's hand which was entwined with his. For a moment he froze thinking he might actually be hurting her, but he realized that he wasn't sure if he could let go even if he was.

But then he felt a gentler and more reassuring squeeze back and he turned to Brooke who was sitting next to him and saw her smiling at him; dimples and sparkling hazel eyes that never failed to brighten his day.

As much as things would change in the next minute, Lucas, in his broody nature, couldn't help but to pause and think about how much they had changed in the last month.

Living in New York was definitely different from Tree Hill and Durham. Sometimes he felt a little out of place in the big city since he didn't have much to do, but the brunette sitting beside him made it all worth while.

She was the one that he would get up early for just so that there was coffee waiting for her after her morning shower before work. She was the one he would stay up late with while she sketched and he wrote. He made sure that she ate properly and took all of her pre-natal vitamins. And most of all, he was there to support her when she needed him most.

Like the time that her mother showed up in New York.Victoria had flown all the way across the country to yell at her estranged husband, and according to Brooke's hormonal rants, Victoria chose the weekend she spends with her father just to spite her. There was yelling, Davis family bitching, and a lot of late night crying, but Lucas was there for her through all of it. Just like Brooke was there for him on the days when he felt lost and confused and 'extra broody' as Brooke put it.

Through all of the drama that occurred in the four short weeks that Lucas had been in New York, there were some memories that stood out the most. Like the first time he and Brooke had curled up in bed together to read baby books and talk about their fears of becoming parents. Or the day when he wandered into central park and ended up playing three hours of basketball with a bunch of high school kids who actually looked up to him. And best of all were the weekend mornings when he would find himself waking up with Brooke in his arms.

Brooke blushed slightly at the intense look in Lucas' eyes as he stared at her, memories filling his senses. She chuckled and nudged him slightly to look forward when he didn't realized the man walking towards the podium in the front of the large room they were in.

Lucas turned back to the front and then he realized he had about 15 seconds until some very important things in his life were determined. And now, if possible, his heart was beating harder than before.

It seemed as though all his senses dulled in those few moments; he couldn't hear much besides the man's voice, everything besides the man blurred, he held his breath and just waited.

_"For the first round of the NBA draft, the New York Knicks select guard Lucas Scott out of DukeUniversity." _

That didn't just happen, did it? Lucas could have sworn that for a second time stopped and he imagined the whole thing.But then he looked over to Brooke.He saw the smile and her mouthing 'you did it'.

And that's when it hit.He actually did it.

Lucas sunk back into his chair and finally exhaled. He could feel Nathan squeezing his shoulders in congratulations and then Brooke ushering him to stand up.

Lucas brought Brooke up to stand with him and hugged her tightly, knowing that this moment would have never happened if it wasn't for her.

Brooke whispered that she loved him that she was so proud of him, and then pushed him toward the stage.

Lucas, now proudly wearing a Knicks hat, stood up on the stage, holding a jersey with the owner of the team.

Nathan was yelling out congratulations, Haley was taking pictures, and Brooke was just standing there thinking that there were only a few times that she had seen Lucas smile so widely.

"Okay," Brooke said as she stepped out onto the balcony. "I get that you're broody by nature, but tonight's a night that you definitely shouldn't be like this," Brooke told Lucas pointedly as she approached him.

Lucas pushed himself up from his leaning position on the railing and turned so that his back was now pressed against it. Brooke stood inches in front of him with her hands on his chest, looking up into his eyes.

Lucas laughed slightly and placed his hands on her hips, tracing light circles with his thumbs.

"I just I just can't help it."

Brooke sighed and shook her head, feigning disappointment.

"What is there to brood about on a night like this?" Brooke asked. She looked up and saw that there wasn't a cloud in the night sky and the weather was warm but not humid. Oh yeah, and there's the fact that Lucas just got drafted to the Knicks and Nathan to the Nets.

Lucas' expression turned serious again and he let out a deep breath.

"I was so ready to give it up," Lucas said quietly.

"But you don't have to," Brooke reassured him.

"I know," Lucas said, "but it's just…"

Brooke reached up and placed a soft hand on his face; gently pressing out the small line on his brow that was present from his furrowed brow and 'brooding face'. She had to hold back a laugh for a moment as she figured that Lucas would probably get real wrinkles soon if he kept up his brooding.

"I know this is big," Brooke said softly, "but aren't you happy?"

"Yeah," Lucas said, looking back up and into Brooke's eyes. "I am," he said with a smiled gracing his face.

Lucas smiled with satisfaction as he heard the swish of the basketball flying through the metal net of the hoop.

"Nice shot," Nathan told him as he grabbed the rebound and took a shot of his own; another perfect swish.

Lucas nodded and dragged himself toward the bend on the side of the court and flopped himself down and waited as Nathan came to join him after retrieving the ball again.

They were both exhausted from the previous night's celebration, but that morning Brooke had kicked them out saying that she and Haley needed girl time. So they grabbed a ball and wandered into the park just to waste some time.

"What's up?" Nathan asked.

"I'm tired," Lucas mumbled and slouched down on the bench, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"You and me both," Nathan agreed. "So how long are we supposed to stay out here?" Nathan asked, checking his watching and seeing that it had been a little over an hour and a half since they left the apartment.

"I have no idea," Lucas sighed. "So you ready to move up here?" Lucas asked, referring to the move to New Jersey that Nathan and Haley would have to make soon enough.

"Yeah, I guess," Nathan shrugged. "I mean, it's going to be weird leaving Tree Hill, but I'm leaving for a pretty damn good reason."

"Right about that."

"Yep," Nathan agreed, "besides, Haley really happy to be near you and Brooke."

"Trust me, Brooke's happy about it too."

"What do you think they're doing now anyway?" Nathan asked.  
"Who knows?" Lucas shrugged. "They're probably shopping or doing…pregnancy stuff?" Lucas suggested.

Nathan nodded and the two brothers stayed silent for a moment as they watched a father and his young son on the other side of the court.

"Is this the part where we're supposed to talk about our fears of becoming fathers?" Nathan asked as he kept his eyes glued to the young boy.

"I think so," Lucas said distractedly as he too watched as the boy squealed with his hands up in the air after making a shot, causing the two Scott brothers to smile slightly.

"Or we could just get some pizza," Nathan suggested.

Lucas nodded for a few seconds. "Pizza sounds good," he said with more energy as the two snapped out of their dazes and got up from the bench.

Lucas let out a tired breath as he closed the door behind him. He felt the cool relief hit his body from the air conditioned apartment; a stark contrast to the humidity of the city's afternoon.After lunch, Nathan met Haley at the hotel to pack up for their late flight, leaving Brooke alone at the apartment.

was about to call out for Brooke when he heard her faint 'freak-out-voice' in the distance.

_"No, I can't find it!" Brooke yelled into the phone._

Lucas followed the voice towards the bedroom listening to the muffled sounds of her rifling through something.

He stopped his quiet movements at the bedroom door and hesitated for a second, debating whether or not he should be listening.

Realizing that Brooke would definitely be listening if their positions were switched, he took a careful step into the bedroom.

_"Rachel, it's not here," Brooke insisted with a frustrated and worried voice. "I didn't move it, but it's not here!" _

Lucas peaked around the corner to see Brooke sitting on the floor of her closet with her back to him. She was holding the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she dug through a cardboard box. A very familiar box.

_"It's a diamond ring, where the hell could it be!" Brooke shouted into the phone._

Lucas had to bite back a laugh at her tone. He grinned as he reached down into his pocket and ran his fingers over the velvety box.

_"Who cares why I was looking through the stupid box, it's not the point," Brooke insisted. "What do you mean?" Brooke asked incredulously then sighed."Bye," She mumbled and hung up the phone. _

At the sound of her get up from the floor, Lucas turned and tried to quietly run into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator door and buried his head inside to try to act innocent.

"Hey broody," Brooke called cheerfully as she entered the kitchen, oblivious to his eavesdropping.

Lucas stood up straight and turned around with a sly smile.

"Hey," he said coolly.

Brooke eyed him carefully knowing something was up.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Thanks,**

**Allie**

**P.S.- if you're waiting for my next chapter of 'the way i was' it'll be up tomorrow. i know i said today, but some things came up and i just didnt have enough time to write today. thanks for being so patient  
**


	23. Chapter 23

**Here's chapter 23!**

**This is the final chapter!! Sad, I know, but it had to end sometime and I think this is a good place. This chapter takes place a little over three and a half years from where we left of in chapter 22.**

**Btw, (hints with the '326' in the username) today is in fact my birthday, so please leave me some great reviews as a gift!**

**I know I should probably write out all of the names of the faithful reviewers for this story, but unfortunately I don't have time right now. Just know that I appreciate everyone's reviews.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Lucas let out a long breath as he leaned on the door, quietly closing. _Home sweet home_ he thought. Road trips were hard enough, but this one was longer than most and he was relieved to finally be home.

He got lucky this time that his flight didn't come in so late that he would have to go straight. On days like this he could spend a little time with his two favorite girls before he had to call it at night. He could probably fall asleep right now; in intense road trip schedule wore him out, but he knew that as soon as he saw the two matching sets of dimples, sleep wouldn't be too important anymore.

Lucas quietly made his way to the bedroom, only to stop short at the doorway with a smile on his face. Lying on one side of the bed, Brooke was focused on the sketch pad in her lap. Curled up next to her in the center of the bed, sinking back into the pillows was his little girl, her eyes glued to the Winnie the Pooh movie that was playing on the TV.

Brooke was the first to spot him. Glancing up from her sketch book quickly she saw his silhouette in the doorway. Doing a double take, she smiled brightly when she knew that it was him. Seeing that beautiful smile, Lucas was sure he fell in love with his wife all over again.

He watched silently as Brooke leaned down to the little girl next to her and whispered something in her ear, pointing to Lucas in the doorway.

The miniature version of Brooke looked back to her mother in confusion before turning to see Lucas in the doorway. Seeing her eyes go wide in surprise brought an even bigger smile to Lucas' face.

"Daddy!" she shrieked and scrambled out from under the covers.

Lucas met her at the end of the bed just in time for her to jump into his arms in delight. Lucas held his daughter close as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. Eventually Lucas pulled back enough for him to place little kisses all over the little girl's face.

"Daddy," She let out through giggles.

"Julie," Lucas said in the same tone.

"I missed you," she said, her words still a little unclear.

"I missed you too, Baby Girl," Lucas said as he adjusted her on his hip so that he could look back over at Brooke who was now getting up to greet him too.

Lucas tore his eyes away from Brooke when he felt Julie squirming in his arms.

"Where'ya going?" Lucas asked.

"Pooh," Julie said excitedly as she landed on the bed again. As soon as she was out of Lucas' grasp she jumped straight to her earlier position under the covers with her favorite stuffed animal in her arms. Within a few seconds, daddy coming home was forgotten and all that was on her mind was the Winnie the Pooh movie on the television screen.

Lucas leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his daughter's head before taking Brooke's hand and leading her out of the room.

"God I missed you," Lucas breathed out as he gently pressed Brooke up against the wall right outside her bedroom door.

"I missed you too," Brooke said quietly before leaning up and capturing his lips with hers.

As the kiss deepened, Lucas ran his hands down to her waist. Brooke could feel him smile into the kiss when his fingers brushed her growing stomach.

Lucas let himself fall to his knees. Pushing up Brooke's pajama top slightly, Lucas felt her hands run through his hair as he placed a soft kiss on her stomach.

"How is my baby today?" Lucas whispered.

"Good," Brooke said, smiling at Lucas' antics. "Same as when I spoke to you last, four hours ago."

Lucas rolled his eyes; as much as Brooke pretended to hate his protectiveness, they both knew that she loved it, even when he went a little overboard which he often did.

"And how is my beautiful wife?" Lucas asked.

"Hungry," Brooke responded.

"Well let's see what we can do about that," Lucas said as he led her into the kitchen. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Hmmm," Brooke pretended to think of what she wanted.

"Let me guess," Lucas said as he moved to the freezer. "Ice cream."

"You're a genius Broody!" Brooke cheered him.

"I know," Lucas replied smartly; he kissed Brooke quickly before giving her a spoon and they both dug into the carton in front of them.

"So do you have work tomorrow?" Lucas asked after a few spoonfuls.

"I have a meeting at 9, but I should be back by 11:30."

"So I get the little rascal in there to myself for the morning, huh?"

"Yep," Brooke answered through a mouthful of ice cream. "What about you? Your last game before the break is tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, 8 o'clock game so I don't have to be there until 5," Lucas said. "Plus we're playing Nathan so that's always fun."

"Riiight," Brooke said remembering. "Haley and mini-Nate are coming in for dinner."

"Then it should be a good day."

"Ye—"

"Mommy!" the cry interrupted them.

"Her movie probably just ended," Brooke said.

"Daddy!" they heard her call out again.

"I'll be there in a minute; you go ahead and spend some time with her," Brooke said as she got up to put the ice ream away. "It's been far too long," Brooke said of his road trip.

Lucas nodded and gave Brooke a gentle kiss on her forehead, whispering 'I love you' against her skin before heading to their bedroom where his daughter was waiting.

"Daddy!" Julie said happily when she saw Lucas walk into the bedroom again.

"Julie," Lucas said, matching her excitement. He sat down on his side of the bed and pulled the little girl into his lap; holding her close and savoring the moment. Road trips always made him a little more in the mood to cuddle when he got back.

"Daddy," Julie tried to say again through a long yawn.

"I think it's someone's bedtime," Lucas said as he lifted her up and carried her into her bedroom down the hall. Lucas tucked her into the covers of her new bed, making sure she had her favorite stuffed before he kissed her softly on the forehead.

"Daddy?" Julie said quietly.

"Yes baby girl?"  
"Are you leaving again?" She mumbled.

Lucas felt the guilt course through his body at the innocent question.

"Not for a while," he said and kissed her again. He had a few weeks off for the all-star break, but after that he'd be back to the regular travel schedule. He loathed the days he had to spend on a bus or a plane instead of with his family. He hated how he wasn't there to tuck his daughter in every single night or wake up with Brooke the next morning.

But he loved the game. He loved more than he ever thought he could, and as if he was the luckiest man in the world, Brooke understood that. She knew how much he hated leaving, but she also knew how much he loved them both. She knew that when he was home, especially during the off season, he was the best father anyone man could be.

"Is she sleeping?" Brooke asked quietly from the door.

"Mama!" Julie called out for her.

"Guess not," Brooke said as she made her way to the little bed.

"Stay," Julie mumbled, stretching out a hand to pull in Brooke who happily obliged.

Whenever Lucas was away, Julie would always sleep with Brooke in her and Lucas' bedroom. With the especially long road trip this time, Julie had gotten used to falling asleep with Brooke by her side.

"Why don't you go take a shower," Brooke suggested and Lucas chuckled a little, knowing that Brooke hated airplane smell. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Lucas nodded, gave Julie and Brooke one more kiss each before leaving the room, allowing Brooke to crawl into the little bed with her daughter.

Twenty minutes later Julie was sleeping soundly and Brooke was just walking back into her bedroom to find Lucas coming out of the bathroom only in pajama bottoms. She grinned at the sight of him; hair wet and spike from rubbing it with a towel, and the remaining moisture making his sculpted chest shine.

"Hi," Brooke said her voice raspy as she walked over to Lucas at the end of the bed.

"Hi," Lucas returned with desire in his eyes and he pulled Brooke close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. His skin was still hot from the shower, and his warmth comforted her on the February night.

* * *

It wasn't until she turned off the alarm clock and settled into the silence of the next day and Brooke ws fully away of Lucas being home again. Feeling his protective arm around her waist and his warm body next to hers made Brooke turn to face him and settle into his embrace for just a few more minutes.

As she and Haley often agreed, it sucked – to put it lightly – when their favorite Scott boys were away. Having Lucas home just made everything complete. Even though he called _all the time_ when he was away, and even though he was never gone for too long, it was still hard/

So that morning, Brooke smiled to herself as she lightly brushed her hand against Lucas' sleeping face. It amazed her how Lucas could sleep through anything if he wanted to, yet if Julie made the slightest noise in the night, he was up and in her room in a matter of seconds.

Brooke heard her phone buzz on her nightstand behind her; a second signal that it was now time to get out of bed. Reluctantly, she removed herself from the bed and Lucas' arms and headed to the shower.

* * *

Lucas woke up to a different kind of alarm clock. He woke up to the kind that was wrapped up in pajamas and kneeling in front of him, lightly tapping his cheeks to wake him.

Lucas groaned slightly as he opened his eyes to reveal Julie's staring back at him.

"Hey baby girl," Lucas mumbled as he pulled her from her kneeling position in front of him into his arms, holding her close and pulling the covers back over him.

"Daddy, wake up," Julie giggled as she squirmed away from his hold.

"What time is it?"

"I don't know," Julie shrugged. "Mommy said to get up after Elmo."

Lucas lifted his head and saw that the credits were rolling on whichever Elmo movie she was watching this morning.

"Alright," Lucas said as he sat up. "Did mommy give you breakfast?"

Julie shook her head no.

"Of course not," Lucas muttered smiling. "What do you want?"

"Pancakes!"

"You really are your mother's daughter," Lucas laughed as he picked Julie up and carried her into the kitchen for breakfast.

* * *

"I love watching them play like this," Haley commented as she, Brooke, and the two kids sat in the second row center court seats in Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks and the Nets face off in their last game before the all-star break.

"Huh?" Brooke asked as she looked up from trying to straighten Julie's Knicks tee shirt that matched her own. Of course Haley and Sam were wearing Nets versions.

Haley rolled her eyes and pointed to the court where Lucas and Nathan were messing around during the warm up. They looked happy; playing the game they love so much with each other. Or against each other, but that just made it more fun for them.

Brooke smiled and mumbled a 'yeah' to Haley as she watched the two brothers, laughing slightly when she saw them hit each other upside the head.

"Mommy?" Brooke looked down to see her daughter's blue eyes staring back up at her from her lap.

"Yes baby?"

"Where Daddy?" She asked innocently.

Brooke smiled and pointed out to Lucas on the court. "Right there; do you see him?"

Julie turned and looked around the court for a few seconds before finding Lucas and squealing 'yeah' making both Brooke and Haley laugh at the three year old's excitement.

Brooke looked up and caught Lucas' eye as he waved over. Brooke smiled and let out a small chuckle. Despite the fact that he was 25 years old, he still had that boyish smile that could melt anyone's heart.

Brooke looked back down to see Julie still grinning as the teams set up for tip off. It amazed her that her baby girl was already three years old. Even more than that, it amazed her that she would have another child in a just over 5 months. Happy was a bit of an understatement for Brooke Davis Scott.

"Brooke?" Haley asked and the brunette turned her attention from the court to her best friend.

"What's up?"  
"How long do you think they'll last tonight?" Haley asked, looking down at Sam who was busy playing with his foam '#1' finger.

Brooke looked to her watch and saw that it was only a few minutes after eight. "Why don't we give them like 45 minutes then see how they're doing," Brooke suggested, knowing that despite the two rambunctious kids would tire out around their usual bed time. Once they got tired or bored of the game, Brooke and Haley would take them to the lounge for the players' families where they could let the kids could sleep on the couches.

"Sounds good," Haley said and then turned her attention back to the court. "Here we go," she said right before the tip off.

* * *

Brooke and Haley both laughed slightly as they saw Lucas and Nathan make their way out of the arena after the game. They looked utterly exhausted, but they always took the time to sign a few autographs.

"Hey Pretty Girl," Lucas said quietly when he and Nathan finally approached the waiting foursome. "Hey baby girl," Lucas said and placed a soft kiss on his sleeping daughter's head before taking the girl into his arms, not wanting his pregnant wife to be straining herself any longer.

The two families said goodbye and headed their separate ways for the night, knowing that they'd get together again in a few short days.

"You did great tonight, broody," Brooke said, smiling up at her husband as he grinned and wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her closer.

"Why thank you," he responded. "So how was your night?"

"Good," Brooke shrugged. "Julie had fun."

"And you?"

Brooke shrugged again, feigning some sort of boredom. Lucas just laughed a little and placed a kiss on her temple, knowing that Brooke loved to go see him play at the Garden.

"Oh," Brooke started up again, "Haley and I were discussing dates for us to go down to Tree Hill this summer."

"Already?" Lucas asked. "Brooke we have like three months until then, and it's not like _our_ house is going to be unavailable."

"Whatever," Brooke sent him a playful glare. "I'm excited, is that such a big deal?"

"No, not at all," Lucas said. As much as Brooke and even he loved to live in New York, it was still nice to spend a few weeks at the beach in Tree Hill during the summer.

"Tired?" Lucas asked as he saw Brooke yawn, brining on one of his own as he readjusted Julie in his other arm.

"Yeah," Brooke breathed out, just like her pregnancy with Julie, she was always exhausted.

"Well then let's get you home," Lucas said and pulled her a little closer.

Brooke smiled and leaned closer into his embrace.

* * *

** Well there ya go!**

**Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed throughout this whole story and 'The Secret's in the Telling'.  
**

**-Allie**

**PS- if you're waiting for my update for 'The Way I Was', it's coming soon. I won't be working on it tonight because my friends are taking me out, but it will be finished and posted soon. The chapters for that story will definitely be a bit longer than this story, and for the next chapter (and basically the rest of the story) there's a lot of Brucas, so get ready for that. Thanks for being so patient!  
**


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